Simple Gifts
by TheFuzzyKiwiFruit
Summary: A retelling of Lord of the Rings with the addition of a main female character as there just isn't enough of those in the original story. Cress is the quirky, oblivious, and innocent apprentice of Gandalf. When she joins the Fellowship with her teacher, will she be a useless burden to the rest of the Company or a bright light to show them the way? 10th Walker and eventual Legolas/OC
1. Chapter I

_A/N: So, yeah, this is my first story that I'm posting on this site. I've been writing for quite a while, but I haven't discovered this little corner of the Internet until a few weeks ago. I've studied character creation for some time now, so I hope my first OC Cress turns out nice and healthy. Also, I apologize beforehand for any OOC-ness that may occur in this story._

_A word about Cress before you meet her: she is an Elf, and she met and became Gandalf's student sometime between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring. As of this first chapter, she is four hundred and thirteen years old._

_Now, on to the inspiration for this story; has anyone, besides me, been slightly ticked off that the Fellowship of the Ring never had a female member? Or at the fact that there weren't many main female characters in general? And The Hobbit literally had no female characters at all! I was really glad when the second Hobbit movie added Tauriel into the story. I don't understand why everyone seems to hate Tauriel; I think it was brilliant to put her in there. The main point: Lord of the Rings should have at least one reoccurring female lead (Arwen doesn't count as she isn't very interesting and hardly does anything unless it's for Aragorn). But that's just my opinion, you can argue it if you want, just don't flame me._

_Well, enough of my ranting! I don't own Lord of the Rings or any of the canon characters. Here's the story ~_

* * *

**Simple Gifts**

*Chapter I:

_Dearest Diary, _

_Master Gandalf is taking me to the Shire for the first time. He told me that there is a hobbit in Hobbiton who is celebrating his one hundred and eleventh birthday, a very respectable age for a hobbit. I think this hobbit's name is Bilby Pappins or Billy Backins or something along those lines; I can't quite remember. Whatever the case, this Bilby Pappins is an old friend of Master Gandalf's from many years ago, and Master Gandalf has taken it upon himself to throw a nice little birthday party for him. I don't understand why I must come along as well, but Master Gandalf insisted. He says that I will like the Shire very much. "It's a lovely little corner of the world," he told me last week. "And hobbits are such interesting folk. I do think you'll find them most entertaining, Cress."_

_We, Master Gandalf and I, have been travelling on a wagon for the past two weeks, trying to get to the Shire. Not to mention, there are fireworks and all sorts of contraptions occupying space in the wagon; I barely have any leg room! The road to the Shire is not nearly the smoothest road I've ever taken. There are so many bumps and pot holes in the ground that I truly feel sorry for the poor beast that is pulling our load. _

_However, I must admit that the scenery is nice. Everything here is so green, and as I have told you before, green is my favorite color. It's very peaceful here, after we crossed the borders of the Shire. If it weren't for this horribly rickety wagon interfering with my comfort, I would actually enjoy this journey. Master Gandalf appears to be in a good mood. He must be very fond of Billy Backins, and from what I can understand, Billy Backins is quite the rich fellow. And he has a nephew named Frodo – or perhaps it's just Rodo? Draco? I've never been good at remembering names, especially these Shire names. They are very strange to me. Who would name their son Bilby? Now, my name – Cress – is a good name. I like my name; I suppose that is my favorite thing about myself. … Actually, that's a lie. My hair is rather nice, I think. Hmm… I can't quite decide. Perhaps I'll ask Master Gandalf._

"Master Gandalf?" Cress shifted her large, doe-like brown eyes away from her journal and looked up at the tall wizard who sat beside her in the tiny wagon. "What is your favorite thing about me, my hair or my name?"

Gandalf frowned at this odd question without taking his eyes off the road in front of him. "That is certainly a peculiar thought, my girl." He appeared to think for a few minutes, glancing over at the She-Elf once in a while to study her wavy honey blonde hair.

Cress continued to stare up at him expectantly, with a bright little smile gracing her lips as if Gandalf's answer meant the world to her. "Well?"

The wizard beamed as he thought of a response that would do. "If you're asking me what attribute of yours pleases me the most, I would have to say neither your hair nor your name."

His companion blinked obliviously for a couple of seconds, trying to decide whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Gandalf laughed at Cress' blank expression before elaborating on his answer, "Don't misunderstand me, Cress; I am not saying your hair looks bad or your name isn't satisfactory. I am merely pointing out that, if you are truly trying to find your best trait, you've left out the most obvious one."

"My eyes?" Cress guessed thoughtfully. Before Gandalf could reply, the She-Elf snatched out a throwing knife from her sleeve and peered at her reflection in the polished blade. She frowned when she saw that her eyes were still their marshy brown color. "My eyes are _that_ great, Master Gandalf," she said, still examining herself in the knife blade.

Gandalf took one hand away from the reins of the horse that pulled the wagon and made Cress, who was leaning dangerously close to the blade, lower the weapon to a safe distance from her face. "A person's best attributes are not found of the outside, my dear Cress. Though your appearance is fair, it is nothing special. You are an Elf, and all Elves have fair physical features."

"Yes, you have told me that already, Master," Cress pointed out, but not rudely. "So what is your favorite quality of mine? I would very much like to know this, Master Gandalf."

"You are exceptionally bright," the wizard said at last. "Of all the years you've been my student, I have rarely seen you unhappy. Stay that way; it may bring hope and light to people around you when things seem the most hopeless and dark."

Cress frowned at that last part. "But, things won't get dark and hopeless, will they?"

Gandalf's eyes suddenly looked faraway and misty. After a long while, when the She-Elf was sure that her teacher wasn't going to answer, he did, "I dearly hope not, Cress. No one can tell for certain, but _if_ something terrible happens to Middle-earth, we must be strong."

Cress' eyes were wide with astonishment at the ominous tone of the wizard. "O-okay…"

They were both silent for a while as the wagon rolled on down the road and came to a clearing where the trees parted, revealing a beautiful stretch of land beyond a narrow little river. Little houses with round doors and windows scattered across the field. Miles of farmland could be seen where little people – the hobbits – were busily plowing the meadows and tending to crops. Gandalf halted the wagon to look over at Cress.

"Welcome to Hobbiton," he said with a warm smile. "Now, let us not burden ourselves with this talk of dark times. We are going to a birthday party, the merriest of all celebrations! Keep your chin up, look happy, smile, and wave."

Cress nodded eagerly and promptly began singing loudly a song in the Elven tongue. She enjoyed singing very much, though she was terrible at it, often driving away birds and causing the squirrels to throw acorns at her. However, being forever oblivious and unfazed by others' opinions of her, she continued to sing, noisily and very out of tune.

Gandalf flinched as she reached a very high and shrill tone. At once, he cupped his hand over Cress' mouth to stop the string of horrible notes – squawks and shrieks would be a better word.

When Cress looked at him, appearing confused and a bit annoyed, Gandalf shook his head at her and said, "I would stick to the flute if I were you."

The Elf huffed with displeasure, but reluctantly stopped her singing and dug her flute out of her little travel sack. She learned to play from her mother, and unlike her singing voice, Cress' flute playing was surprisingly good.

Her flute is a precious thing to her but not because it made up for her less than perfect vocal talents. Long ago, when Cress first started learning sorcery from Gandalf, the wizard had asked her to find an object that she would keep forever. This object, which turned out to be her flute, became the thing from which she channeled her magic, much like Gandalf's staff. Without her flute, Cress was very much like her teacher without his staff. It was like losing a part of her body.

Cress lifted the instrument to her lips and prepared to play that same tune she had just sung when she realized that she had not finished writing her diary entry yet. She quickly set the flute down and picked up her quill and notebook again as Gandalf urged the horse to go on.

_Master Gandalf says that he likes my personality better than my hair or name. But still, I must say my hair is very nice, so I'll have to decide that that is my favorite attribute about myself._

_Master Gandalf also said something about dark times. I hope he was only speaking metaphorically, for I am very much enjoying myself in this time a peace. It would be horrible if something was to come and disturb the concord. _

Suddenly, the sound of children shouting and cheering reached Cress' pointed ears, and she looked up to see that the wizard's wagon was surrounded by little hobbit children. They were all quite short and wore no shoes. None of them seemed to pay any attention to the Elf, but they all knew very well who Gandalf was.

"Fireworks! Fireworks!" the hobbit children cried desperately. They chased Gandalf's wagon as it rolled slowly down the road and deeper into Hobbiton.

The deeper Gandalf drove into the village, the more tongues began to wag and people began to stare. To Cress' shock, a few of the inhabitant of Hobbiton glared and spat unfriendly words at their wagon as they passed. A notably unhappy hobbit family lived very close to the hobbit-hole that was the wizard and the She-Elf's destination.

"The Sackville-Bagginses," Gandalf leaned over and whispered to Cress. "They're not the most pleasant folk around these parts. Don't pay any attention to them."

"Why are they so… angry?" the student asked meaningfully. "If they keep frowning like that, they'll get frown lines. Are they always like that, or is it because we're here that they are unhappy?"

Gandalf briefly explained how the Sackville-Bagginses were relatives of Bilbo's – so that is him name! thought Cress – and they were next in line to inherit Bilbo's hobbit-hole… this is, before Bilbo adopted Frodo as his heir, and now the Sackville-Bagginses will never get the nice hobbit-hole they've been wanting ever since its owner came back from his journey 60 years ago, interrupting the auction that was being put on his home.

"What a lovely family…" Cress murmured. She did not like the look of disgust the Sackville-Bagginses gave her and her teacher/master/hero. "I do hope Bilbo and Frodo are more pleasant than them."

Gandalf grinned from behind his long bushy beard, "Worry not. Like I told you before, Bilbo is my old friend. He will graciously welcome us into his home. Ah, here we are!"

Cress was so busy trying to get a glimpse of the Sackville-Bagginses again, that she did not noticed the wizard halting the wagon in front of a quaint hobbit-hole at Bag End. The She-Elf first found the home to be the cutest thing in the world. It was so very small (probably very large for a hobbit) and so very cozy looking with its round green door and yellow door knob.

"It's lovely," she commented happily. Gandalf nodded at her, and Cress slid off the wagon. Standing up straight, Cress was a fair height; five feet and six inches tall. But that was still a rather short height on Elf standards. She first attempted to stretch her legs, but found that they were deeply asleep.

Cursing, Cress ignored the numbness and proceeded to help Gandalf in unloading the wagon a bit. Then, they went up to the gate in front of Bilbo's garden where a sign read '_No Admittance Except For Party Business', _then to the front door of the house and politely rang the bell.

Some hasty shuffling could be heard on the other side of the door. It swung inward after a short while, revealing a smiling old hobbit on the other side. His hair was curly and a pale grey to show his age, and his skin was slightly wrinkled. He didn't look nearly as old as Cress had expected, but it was still easy to tell that he was Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit that will turn one hundred and eleven years old very soon.

"Ah, Gandalf!" the hobbit squeaked delightedly. He first bowed at the wizard then slowly went forward to hug him around the waist, due to being too short and unable to reach his shoulders. Then he turned his attention to the Elf standing behind Gandalf, "And you must be…"

Cress smiled softly at him, dipped down in a sort of curtsy, and ended up falling on her face due to not being able to feel her legs. She scrambled back up, highly embarrassed, and straightened her clothes in a failed attempt to appear dignified after that humiliating slip-up.

She held out her hand to Bilbo, flashing a charming smile, "Hello, Mr. Packins – er, Baggins – sorry." She mentally banged her forehead against a table. "My bad, I'm not very good at remembering names. I hope you will forgive me."

Bilbo didn't seem bothered at all by this. He merely beamed at her, good-naturedly. "Now, now, there's nothing to forgive, my lass. I have been told much about you; you are Cress, the Elf pupil of Gandalf."

"That's right," Cress nodded, and properly shook hands with Bilbo.

"Oh! An Elf at my birthday party!" Mr. Baggins cried joyously. "Folk around here have seldom seen Elves at all. You and Gandalf are both most welcome in my home. Please, come in!"

He stepped out of the doorway to allow the wizard and the Elf entrance into his hobbit-hole. Gandalf entered first and had to stoop down in order to get through the tiny, circular doorway. Cress was next, and she, being shorter than her teacher, only needed to duck her head a bit in order to go into the cozy hole of Mr. Baggins.

As Bilbo led them deeper into his home, Gandalf knocked his head on a simple chandelier while he was busy keeping up with the hobbit's quick pace. Cress narrowly avoided hitting her temple on a beam that supported the ceiling as she followed closely behind her teacher.

At last, Bilbo brought them to a sitting room with a fireplace, a few chairs, and cups of tea waiting for them. The hobbit eagerly beckoned them to sit and have a drink.

Cress noticed a large chair that was bigger than all the others. She was quite sure that it was there for Gandalf. She looked around and found that there was not a seat big enough for her.

Mr. Baggins looked apologetic. "I am sorry, Ms. Cress, but I do not have any other chairs that you would be comfortable in. Please excuse my unpreparedness."

Cress saw that Gandalf had already sunk into his prepared armchair. "It's alright, Mr. Baggins," she gave him a reassuring grin. "Don't mind me. I'll just go outside and get the party decorations ready. And our horse is tired from the long journey, so I should probably tend to him first. You enjoy your tea, Mr. Baggins."

This seemed to make the hobbit feel slightly better about not pleasing a guest. Cress carefully weaved her way through the many tunnels of the _smial _and found her way to the front door again. She slipped out of the hobbit-hole, closed the door behind her, and turned to Gandalf's wagon which still sat before the gate to Bilbo's garden.

The Elf approached the wagon, took a crateful of fireworks from the back, and prepared to take it to the wide field that was to be the site of the party. However, when she tried to pull the crate away, it wouldn't budge. She frowned and pulled harder. A flash of skin appeared, and Cress realized that someone was fighting over the crate with her. "Hey!" the She-Elf shouted, thinking it was one of the Sackville-Bagginses or just some hooligan hobbit children. "What do you think you're doing? Get out of there! Those fireworks can blow up in your face, you little thief!"

"I'm not a thief!" came the reply in a male voice. "These party favors are for my uncle from Gandalf the Grey! What are _you_ doing with them?!"

Cress grunted as the crate was wretched out of her hand, leaving some painful wood splinters. She drew her flute from her belt and brandished it around a little, ready to hex whoever may attack her. "Just who in the name of Elrond are you!?" she hissed venomously. "Show yourself!"

To her great shock, a young hobbit stepped out from behind the wagon and into view. He was taller than most of the hobbits Cress had seen so far, but still quite short, which is probably why the Elf couldn't see him before. He had very curly, dark brown hair, bright eyes, and a cleft in his chin.

"Frodo?" Cress guessed uncertainly.

"Who are you, and how do you know my name?" the hobbit demanded, still clutching the fireworks he had wrestled out of Cress' grip. Then, he appeared to do a double take when he saw the She-Elf's face.

Cress, realizing that she had made a mistake, hastily lowered her flute from its threatening position. "I am Cress, Elf student of Gandalf," she said as friendlily as she could. "I'm sorry. I mistook you for someone else. These party favors _do _rightfully belong to you. I was merely helping in delivering them to the party grounds." She took a step back from Frodo.

"So Gandalf's here?" the hobbit asked excitedly.

"Yes, he's inside the hobbit-hole, having tea with Bilbo."

Frodo studied her for a moment, "And did you say you were an Elf?"

Cress nodded, "Yes, I am. And if you're planning on taking those fireworks to the site of Mr. Bilbo Baggins' birthday party, I will be glad to help you with the task."

"Er… Right," Frodo said, glancing over the contents of the wagon.

The She-Elf stashed away her flute, swiftly took an armful of fuses and fireworks, and marched past Frodo, leading him to the place where the party tent will be set up.

The hobbit followed closely behind her, also carrying armloads of party supplies. "What did you mean when you said you're a 'student' of Gandalf?"

"It means," Cress replied. "that Gandalf educates me. I travel with him and learn what I must know in order to become a sorceress. I met him many years ago when I still lived in the forest. As far as I know, I think I am the only pupil he has ever taken."

"Just wait till Sam hears about this," Frodo said heartily.

"Sam? Who is Sam?"

"His father is Bilbo's gardener. He's a good friend of mine and has an interest in Elves. I think he wants to see an Elf more than anything in the world."

"Does he?" Cress set the fireworks on the grassy meadow and turned back toward Bilbo's house to pick up some more. "Have _you _ever seen an Elf before me?"

Frodo shook his head, "No, they don't usually come here. I'd say most of the folk around here are scared of them. Elves are adventurous and hobbits are a quiet, peaceful race."

"Then I suppose your friend Sam is a special little hobbit, isn't he?" Cress asked with a knowing smile.

The two continued to talk and exchange stories as they moved the party supplies, little by little, from the wagon to the meadow. By the time they were done, Gandalf and Bilbo came finished their tea time and came out to see that the party tent was ready to be raised, the decorations were ready to be hung, and the fireworks were ready to be set on fire.

A crowd of hobbits from all over Hobbiton had gathered at the meadow to gawk at Gandalf's supplies. Then, they started helping with the tent and the decorations. At this, Cress decided that hobbits were pleasant and merry folk after all. And that she would greatly enjoy her stay at the Shire.


	2. Chapter II

*Chapter II:

On the night of the party, September 22nd, Cress was in a merry mood – well, an even _merrier _mood than she usually was. She wore a dress of green and yellow which was very tight and scratchy. If Cress had her way, she'd wear men's clothes as they are much more comfortable and easy to move around in.

While Bilbo and Frodo greeted the mobs of guests that were expected to arrive, Cress sorted out Gandalf's fireworks. Once in a while, the Elf would look in the Baggins' direction and see that presents were being eagerly exchanged.

Cress tugged on Gandalf's sleeve when the wizard came around. "Master Gandalf, why are Bilbo and Frodo handing out presents as well? It's their birthday, isn't it? Why must they give presents to the guests?"

"It is hobbit tradition to give presents to everyone on fine occasions," the wizard explained. "Hobbits are very generous folk, mind you, and to receive present and give them away is what makes them happiest."

An awful thought struck Cress' mind just then. She gasped in horror and snapped her head up to stare at her teacher with wide eyes. "I didn't bring a present! Oh Master Gandalf, what will I do? I can't walk into a birthday party without a present to give out; it is a disgrace!"

"Calm yourself," Gandalf said with a smile. "I'm sure Bilbo will understand. This is your first time in the Shire, so you do not know of the traditions here."

"But I still feel terribly guilty…" Cress looked out at the delighted faces of the hobbits that had just arrived to the party.

"Why don't you go out and greet some guests?" Gandalf suggested. "Mingle with them and it might take your mind off some things. And the hobbit children will be delighted to hear some music and stories, if you have any to tell. Go and entertain them while I get the rest of these fireworks ready."

The Elf nodded and skipped off toward the party tent. Little lantern were hung within the tent and dozens of round tables scattered underneath the pavilion. Cress made a mental note that hobbits loved round things. There was also a large yellow banner over the meadow that read '_Happy Birthday, Bilbo Baggins_'.

By the time all the invited hobbits showed up at the party, Cress began to suspect if some of them had been invited at all. There were so many little people running around that the Elf couldn't imagine how many invitations the Bagginses had to write. Surely a few of the guests must have shown up without even receiving an invitation

When the sun set behind the western horizon and the moon and stars rose up, Cress could hardly even call this celebration a party. It was really more of a series of different entertainments mashed together into one setting. There was eating (that was where Cress found most of the phony guests who only came for the food), singing (Gandalf advised Cress to avoid this activity), fireworks (all the children were gathered here), and dancing which was where the She-Elf decided to go.

A large area was cleared of tables and chairs to be made into an area for folk who fancied the art of dancing. A band of panpipes, drums, banjos, and fiddles played lively music for the dancers, and a circle of people, who weren't twirling around or pirouetting were laughing and clapping like they were having the time of their lives.

As Cress maneuvered around the little people, careful not to knock any of them to the ground, she noticed a very odd and comical sight. Frodo was standing near the dancing circle and appeared to be giving a lecture to a younger, somewhat chubby hobbit. The younger of the two was fidgeting with the ends of his vest, and once in a while he would gaze toward a beautiful female hobbit swaying around gracefully in the circle.

Cress smirked with delight as she watched Frodo shove his friend into the ring of dancers. The poor guy ended up dancing clumsily with the object of his affections while Frodo stood off to the side, laughing at him.

Quirking an eyebrow at this, Cress approached Frodo and sat down on the ground beside him. "You seem to find great joy in embarrassing your friend," she stated with a smile.

Frodo was so busy watching the younger hobbit trip over his feet as the girl hobbit elegantly twirled in circles that he did not notice the Elf come closer. "Oh, Sam?" he asked, becoming aware of what Cress had said to him. "I'm not embarrassing him. I'm doing him a favor, really. He's so shy that he'd never ask her to dance on his own."

"Are you sure about that?" Cress asked fondly, motioning toward Sam, whose face was bright red and hands probably very sweaty. "He looks quite humiliated to me."

Before Frodo could reply, a little child hobbit approached them bashfully and held out his tiny hand to Cress, "Wood yew like to danth wih me, Miss?" He sounded like he wasn't even sure what those words meant, that he had only recently been taught how to say them.

Cress' eyes widened in questioning, slight shock, and cuteness overload. She glanced over at Frodo with a look that read, "Is he being serious?" Frodo gave an enthusiastic nod to her, and the Elf cheerfully accepted the offer of the hobbit child.

Despite their immense difference in height, Cress still had lots of fun with that hobbit child. And throughout the entire night, it was that single little boy that had the boldness to ask her to dance.

A few more hours passed and Cress sank into a big chair that was set up for her among the many dinner tables in the tent. She scooted over to sit beside Frodo and Sam, who looked like they were having a serious talk. Frodo was patting his friend on the back while Cress set her chair at their table and stabbed her fork into the sausages and bread rolls that were piled up on her plate. "Hello," she greeted them simply and started stuffing her face with food. She was quite hungry after so much dancing and storytelling.

Since she was so busy with her dinner, Cress didn't notice a piece of carrot falling out of Sam's mouth and landing back on his plate as he noticed her overly pointy ears and long hair – the features of an Elf.

For a moment, Cress wasn't sure what made the table go quiet. She looked up, her cheeks stuffed with rice and corn, "Wot?" She swallowed and gazed at Frodo and Sam with confusion, tilting her head to one side curiously, "Have I done something wrong?"

"Told you," Frodo said to Sam with a smile of triumph. "I told you there was an Elf in Hobbiton, and you wouldn't believe me."

Sam could only nod slowly at this.

Cress, realizing that nothing was the matter, promptly resumed the stuffing of her face with various foods. She only looked up from her plate when she heard Bilbo clear his throat, getting ready for his speech.

The old hobbit began his address by thanking everyone for coming to the party. Then, he spoke of how one hundred and eleven years was not nearly enough time spent with the people of Hobbiton and many other things. However, no one appeared to be paying attention to his words until he said: "I am making an ANNOUNCEMENT. I regret to announce that this is the end. I am going. I am leaving now. Good-bye!"

And he simply vanished!

Cress was so caught off guard that she spat out the beverage she was drinking all over Sam. Then, she choked on the rest, and Frodo had to smack her hard on the back to stop her from gagging and retching like an old hag. Once she recovered from her coughing, the Elf muttered a quick apology to Sam and stood up from her seat, looking over the heads of the party guest in an attempt to locate Bilbo. But the old hobbit was nowhere to be found.

The party guests were in frenzy as each of them began coming up with different theories as to where their host had gone, each explanation more outrageous than the last. Amidst the chaos and mayhem, Cress managed to plow through the crowd, due to her size advantage, and immediately rushed off to find Gandalf.

Her first place to look was where his fireworks were stacked up, but he was not there. And instead of the wizard, Cress found two young hobbits groping around the firecrackers and digging through Gandalf's supplies. She didn't even bother to order them to get out of there. Then, she made for Bilbo's hobbit-hole.

In her haste, Cress accidentally banged her forehead against the low doorway of Mr. Baggins's house. She cursed under her breath and rubbed her bruised skull before shutting the door behind her. "Master Gandalf? Are you in here?"

She walked along a few corridors and halls before finding Bilbo and Gandalf sitting in the room with the fireplace and tea sets. However, the hobbit looked like he was getting ready to leave the on a long journey. He carried his walking stick and had a large backpack on his shoulders. Cress saw a flash of gold as she quickly approached them. "What was that? Master?"

Bilbo hurried past her and toward the front door. Gandalf didn't answer the Elf's question. Instead, he simply said, "Leave me alone for a while, won't you? I need silence and time to think." The wizard sank into a chair and began puffing on his pipe pensively.

Cress was puzzled and worried by this, but she nodded hesitantly and slowly backed out of the doorway with reluctance. She did not think it was a good idea to question Gandalf's orders, not when he looked so stern and grim. On her way out, she unintentionally banged her head again on the low door frame and winced pitifully before getting down on her hands and knees to simply crawl her way out of the hobbit-hole.

Just as she was about to reach the round green front door, it swung open quickly and hit Cress in the nose, hard. The Elf spat a very unfriendly Elvish curse loudly at whoever rammed the door in her face. Then, she whimpered in pain and touched her nose. It wasn't broken, thank goodness, but it was starting to bleed.

It turned out to be Frodo who had swung the heavy wooden door in her face. The young hobbit stepped into the _smial _and jumped with a start when he saw Cress curled up in a corner pinching her nose with two large bruises on her forehead.

"Thanks a lot," the Elf muttered angrily, glaring at Frodo. "You ought to be careful about opening that door."

"I'm sorry…" the hobbit looked at her with worry before hurrying off the kitchen. He quickly returned with a soft rag and handed it to Cress, who held it to her nose to block the bleeding. Then, Frodo looked around, "Is Bilbo here?"

Cress had her arms crossed in an annoyed manner with her right hand pressing the rag to her nostrils and head tilted back. "No, he just left. But Gandalf's in the sitting room. He's thinking."

Frodo looked like he wanted to ask Cress to elaborate about Bilbo "leaving", but the agitation in her eyes clearly read, "_Don't talk to me._" The hobbit left the Elf alone and strolled down the many corridors of the _smial, _looking for the wizard.

Cress didn't dare to get up and try to explore the hobbit-hole again, in fear that she'll get more bruises and possibly something worse than just a nose bleed. She sat in the entrance hall and glowered. But she could hear Gandalf and Frodo talking in hushed voices in a room further down the tunnel. Cress caught bits and pieces of their conversation, but none of it made much sense; a ring, Bilbo never coming back to Bag End, and the hobbit-hole officially belonging to Frodo.

In the days that followed the party, Bilbo did not come back. Cress did not like the thoughtful, faraway look in Gandalf's eyes. In fact, what really made the Elf worry was when the wizard announced that they, he and Cress, will be leaving a Hobbiton a week before they were scheduled to go.

"You've been acting very odd, lately, Master Gandalf," Cress stated bluntly when the wizard told her to pack quickly. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Yes, yes, everything's fine," her teacher replied hastily. "Well, at least I hope so. There is something very urgent that I must do. You cannot come with me, Cress. I am sending you to Rivendell to live with Lord Elrond for some time."

Cress immediately opened her mouth to ask why she couldn't go with him, but the wizard must have anticipated it because he went on before the Elf could get a word out. "Don't question it, my girl. Do you remember the promise you made over fifty years ago?"

The Elf swallowed audibly and recited, "_If I am to become Gandalf the Grey's apprentice and travelling companion, I must not question nor disobey any direct orders, for they are all for my own good. I must have self-control and the highest level of discipline, for recklessness will not be tolerated. And if great danger is to fall upon us, I must save myself, even if it means leaving my Master behind. Should I ever break this oath, my Master has every right to dismiss me. I swear upon the fiery depths of Mount Doom in Mordor._"

A distant rumble could be heard like faraway thunder as Cress said "_Mordor_".

Gandalf looked at his student meaningfully. "First, I shall take you to Rivendell. Once you are there, you must not leave until I myself come to retrieve you. Lord Elrond will look after you while I am gone."

"How long will you be gone?" Cress thought that was a fair and completely reasonable question to ask.

The wizard looked troubled. "It's hard to say. I will try to come back as quickly as I can, but I cannot give you an exact date."

That wasn't reassuring at all. The Elf took a deep breath and nodded, acting like she understood when she really didn't. "Yes, Master. Let us go to Rivendell." As she stuffed the last of her belongings into a small drawstring sack, Cress had no idea that she would be housed in the Last Home House for nearly twenty years.

* * *

_A/N: I guess you can call these first two chapters a prologue. The next chapter will begin when Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Aragorn arrive at Rivendell, like, nineteen years later, so yeah... Anyways, REVIEW for me, won't you? And many thanks to my first Follower and my first Favoriter! You guys are amazing ^_^_


	3. Chapter III

*Chapter III:

_Seventeen Years Later…_

Cress let out a shriek of horror as she sat bolt upright in her bed. Her hair was a mess and half of her blankets were twisted up and on the floor beside her. The Elf panted, her eyes wide with panic as she recalled the nightmare she had just woken up from.

In her dream, she stood on a very high and snowy cliff at night. Below her, she saw two figures; one was grey and the other white. She was quite sure that they were her Master Gandalf and Grandmaster Saruman, and they were fighting. Bolts of lightning and walls of fire sprang from their staffs violently while snow swirled mercilessly around them. The blizzard was so thick that Cress could hardly see anything.

And at the end of the dream, the sound of the wind and thunder grew so loud and the snow fell so heavily that Cress became immensely afraid. She woke up just as the blanket of snow around her grew so tall that it covered the top of her head, and she heard the battle no more.

Cress did not wake up buried in snow. She was in a soft bed with many sheets and quilts laid upon her. She was in the homely house of Elrond. Pale moonlight streamed in rays through a small balcony to her left, facing south. White curtains fluttered in the night breeze while the distant sound of gushing waterfalls could be heard. It was very peaceful in Rivendell, as if it was cut off from the troubled and violent outside world beyond the Misty Mountains.

The She-Elf's breathing had slowly decreased in speed, and Cress inhaled deeply to calm herself further. "Just a dream…" she murmured in the dark to herself. "Just a stupid dream. There's nothing to worry about. Master Gandalf is safe. He is in the room on the third floor, right below you. He's fine."

Only the day before had the She-Elf seen her master for the first time in almost two decades. Needless to say, she had lots and lots of questions for him.

Seventeen years ago, Gandalf had simply left her there in front of the grand doors of Elrond's home. He had said a very swift farewell and rode away, leaving the young Elf standing awkwardly in front of the Last Homely House.

It was rather chilly outside, so Cress had reached out a hand to Ring the doorbell of Elrond's magnificent mansion. But before her finger could press the little silver button, the doors swung open by itself, allowing golden light from inside the house to fall on her. It was warm and inviting, so the Elf confidently walked in, and the doors closed behind her.

"Welcome, Lady Cress student of Gandalf the Grey, to the home of Lord Elrond," said a male Elf who stood in the entrance hall and bowed. "I am Glorfindel. Please follow me to your quarters."

Cress had never been shown such formal respect before, but she liked it a lot. _Lady Cress…_ she thought, tapping her chin_. Yes, I like that title. It's nice._ She thanked the Elf and followed him to the room in which she would be staying until Gandalf came back to pick her up.

Afterwards, she had dinner with the household of Elrond, including Elrond himself. There was also the Lady Arwen, whom Cress thought to be very beautiful, even for an Elf. Many days after she first arrived at the Last Homely House, Cress began pondering how she can make herself as fair and lovely as Elrond's daughter.

Cress had always thought that she wasn't too bad looking, but when standing next to Lady Arwen, she could not compare in beauty. The younger Elf's hair wasn't as thick and full as Arwen's, and her skin wasn't anywhere near as flawlessly smooth as the Evenstar's. Also, Elrond's daughter was a few inches taller than her, which truly made Cress feel invisible. And though she was already a full grown Elf, Cress' chest was relatively flat.

If Cress had cared very much about her looks, she would have felt very resentful toward Arwen, but she didn't for her appearance was low on her list of priorities. Like I told you before, she had the tendency of wearing men's clothes, if given her way.

For nearly twenty years, Cress had stayed in the Last Homely House while Gandalf went about Middle-earth, dealing with the businesses that he did not wish for his student to know. It was supposed to be a temporary stay, but the amount of time Cress had spent there felt like a permanent change.

There was one positive thing that the Elf found at Elrond's house besides the general feeling of safety and comfort; Bilbo Baggins was there. However, seeing as though they hardly knew each other at first, Cress didn't talk to him much. But as the years went by, Gandalf's apprentice grew bored at the Last Homely House, so she started spending a lot of her time with the old hobbit.

She read bits and pieces of the book he was writing and was especially interested in what Gandalf did before he met her, when he was helping Thorin Oakenshield and Company on the quest for Smaug's treasure hoard.

Cress had expected that she'd only be staying at the house of Elrond for a several months, but it turned out to be just over seventeen years. When Gandalf finally came back from his unexplained adventures and studies, he had quite a tale to tell.

However, he was tired from his travels, so Elrond advised him to get some sleep before telling of his solo adventures.

Cress was very angry with Gandalf for leaving her at the Last Homely House for so long, but when she saw her Master, the only thing she could do was hug him tightly around the waist and cry tears of joy, for she was half expecting that he had abandoned her, or worse. Cress didn't know what she would do if the wizard was killed on his travels or taken captive by orcs or nasty Wargs.

And the nightmares had been coming for months before Gandalf returned. Even now that Cress knew he was safe, her bad dreams continued. It was quite unhealthy, and the She-Elf wondered more than once if she should report this.

Cress massaged her temples for a few minutes to clear her mind and sighed in defeat and stress. She sank back into her puffy pillows and stared up at the domed ceiling of her sleeping quarters. "I must be going mad."

Then, she slept again until the sun rose hours later.

* * *

Cress was very agitated. She had been looking forward to hearing about where Gandalf had been for the past seventeen years, and now, two days after his return, he refused to tell her anything. And if others had heard about it, they didn't tell her. The She-Elf knew better than to push the wizard, so she took her annoyance out the eggs and bacon she was eating for breakfast.

She moodily stabbed at the eggs, reducing them to a pile of white and yellow mush after a few minutes. Then, she turned to the bacon and tore at them with her teeth as if they were jerky.

The Elves sitting nearby eyed her wearily and innocently scooted their chairs and plates several inches away from her.

After the breakfast, something very interesting happened that made Cress forget about Gandalf completely. It was so utterly random from the She-Elf's clueless point of view that, at first, she thought it was a joke.

Cress was pacing to and fro in the gardens in front of Elrond's house that morning when she saw a group of Elves hurrying along the rocky path just outside of Rivendell, the path between the Ford of Bruinen and the city. They appeared to be hauling a small unconscious body with them. As they quickly drew nearer, Cress was able to see who they were carrying.

It was a hobbit. He looked quite familiar, but Cress, with her less than flawless memory, could not quite put her finger on it.

There was a bandage on the hobbit's left shoulder and various small cuts and bruises on his face. He was also wet and looked like he took a swim in a river or lake. That couldn't be good, considering he was unconscious. Maybe he drowned?

Cress dug deep into her thoughts, trying to remember who the hobbit was. He wore a golden ring around his neck on a chain that the Elf thought to be very pretty, but she only got a brief glimpse of it before he and the ring disappeared into Elrond's mansion. This piece of jewelry also brought back some shreds of memories; a flash of gold, the talk of a ring in Bilbo's mansion many years ago that Cress heard, the young hobbit who lived in and owned the cozy _smial _at Bag End.

It came back to Cress after a few minutes of oblivious pondering, and she eventually realized that that was Frodo whom she had just seen. But what was he doing so far away from the Shire?

You can imagine how confused she was; knowing nothing of the Ring (except from Bilbo's story, but he claimed to have lost the Ring), the Dark Lord, and the danger the hobbits had gone through to get to Rivendell.

Cress' immediate reaction, since the other Elves gave her no time to ask questions, was to tell Bilbo that his heir was in the house of Elrond. She half walked and half ran to the porch that Bilbo usually sat at during the daytime, and surely enough, he was there, looking as if he was thoroughly enjoying himself as he wrote in his red notebook.

The old hobbit looked up when he heard Cress come out onto the patio. "Ah, hello there, dear girl. It's wonderful to see you, but I'm afraid I have not finished the next chapter yet. You will have to wait a couple more days to read more of _There and Back Again._"

"This isn't about that," Cress said, although she would have very much liked to read some more of Bilbo's book. "It's Frodo," – Bilbo's head snapped up at this with curiosity – "he's here in the Homely House. I saw them bring him in."

"Frodo?" the hobbit whispered faintly. "So he finally came…"

"He looked like he'd just gone through Hell and back," the Elf replied. "Do you want me to take you to go see him if Lord Elrond will allow it?"

Bilbo set aside his book in a slow and dull manner due to his age catching up with him. Cress helped him out of his chair, and they walked together into the mansion. The Elf carefully walked Bilbo around, looking for the room where Elrond's household may have brought Frodo. Once in a while, they would see a people hurrying through the wide corridors, carrying healing supplies; these were who Cress and the old hobbit followed in order to find Frodo's chamber.

Judging from the haste of the Healer Elves, Frodo must be quite injured. When Cress and Bilbo found the right door, the Halfling was allowed entry inside while the She-Elf was forced to stay out.

Cress, feeling excluded, annoyed, and lonely, reluctantly stayed away from the door and did not try to force her way in. She could understand that Bilbo was a relative of Frodo, so he should have every right to see him. But why not Cress? She's Frodo's friend… sort of. And she's been a good girl during her stay, hasn't she (asides from the fact that she got a bit arrogant after being referred to as "Lady" the first time she met Glorfindel and ended up constantly reminding Elrond's household that her name was "Lady Cress" not "Cress")?

Cress wasn't sure how long she waited in the empty corridor while Elrond worked healing magic on Frodo. When the door finally opened and other Elves filed out, Cress was surprised to find that three other hobbits were in the room, but they were completely conscious while their friend was not. There were Sam and two other younger hobbits that Cress did not know; if she did, she didn't remember.

What really made the corners of the She-Elf's eyes twitch with agitation was that Aragorn was also allowed into Frodo's room. Cress knew Aragorn a little bit as the Ranger lived at the Last Homely House for some time when she had first arrived. And as he grew up from a boy to a man, he left Rivendell and only visited on special occasions. Cress thinks that he has an affair with Lady Arwen, but she can't be sure. If it was true, Cress wondered how the massive age difference would work out.

As far as Cress knew, Aragorn had nothing to do with Frodo, so why does he get to visit him with she was denied entry? Although she hardly knew the Human, the She-Elf didn't very much like him after that event.

Also, Gandalf was in there too. He looked grim and troubled.

Cress immediately approached him and spoke with dangerous aggression, "Master Gandalf, will you please inform me as to what is going on? What happened to Frodo? What's he doing here, anyway? And who were those two hobbits with Sam? You never told me why you were gone from me for so long, either. Are you planning on keeping it a secret forever or telling me now?"

"One request at a time, my girl," Gandalf tried to soothe her. "To address your last question; yes, I will tell you when the time comes. In time, I will tell you everything, but not now. I have important matters to discuss with Lord Elrond."

Cress started to say something that was meant to be a retort, but Gandalf didn't hear it as he had already swept away down the corridor and disappeared around a corner.

That night, the She-Elf nearly snapped her quill as she wrote in her diary:

_Dearest Diary,_

_There's something wrong. Despite Master Gandalf being back with me, I feel more alone than ever. The Master won't share any stories of what had occupied him for the past seventeen years; I suspect it must be something dark, as he appeared reluctant and hesitant to say out in the open. I hope he doesn't think I'm too young to hear these things because I am not. _

_I heard murmurs of a secret council that is to be held once Frodo recovers from whatever it is that struck him down (no one will tell me what this is, so I don't know exactly). If these rumors are true, surely Gandalf and Elrond will be there, and a few more shall be invited to the discussion. Perhaps everything will be revealed for me when I am summoned to the council._

_What's that? You don't think I'll be summoned at all? Yes, well, I can only pray that Lord Elrond will see me fit to attend his very important council. However, if my luck should run out and I am not invited to the council, I suppose I will have to go whether I am welcome or not. Perhaps I'll hide in the bushes or disguise myself as a servant so that I can hear what is being exchanged as I serve the members of the council. I haven't quite decided yet, but I'll figure something out. In any case, if I am summoned to the council, I will not have to think of an eavesdropping plan. Hopefully, that will be the case, and I won't have to worry about getting caught, kicked out of the council in front of all the members, and bringing embarrassment to my Master._

_I must know what is happening, even if Master Gandalf does not approve. He has delayed telling me the situation long enough! I must take matters into my own hands._

_-Cress _


	4. Chapter IV

*Chapter IV:

It took Frodo three days to heal from his injuries, and in that time, Cress waited expectantly for an invitation to the council that is to be held.

After much sneaking around and eavesdropping, the Elf was able to confirm that the council was not a rumor and will take place the day after Frodo recovers. When news floated around the Last Homely House that the little hobbit was awake, Cress began anticipating her summon even more.

On the morning of the council, the She-Elf began to worry a little. She still heard no sign of being invited, and it didn't make her happy. Also, it appeared that Elrond had many guests arrive at his front door that morning.

Cress tried to be like a ninja and stealthily make her way into Elrond's garden so that she could catch a glimpse of the visitors. She was sure they were going to attend the council; they looked like very important people with very important business to take care of with the Lord of Rivendell.

The first that Cress saw was a Human. He had a sort of purposeful appearance, being tall, dark haired, and had a noble and fair face. His garments looked rich which gave Cress the impression that he was a prince or lord or simply a very rich person.

Next was a small band of Dwarves with thick beards, hard eyes, and giant axes hanging on their belts. If they had not rode into Elrond's courtyard on ponies, Cress would have been intimidated by them.

Lastly, several Elves rode majestically on white horses into the garden. They all had golden hair, handsome faces, and wore green and brown garments that labeled them as the representatives of Mirkwood far to the east. They looked different from the Elves of Lothlórien, where Cress was from, but they were still as fair as all Elves were.

With so many people present, Cress had a sudden, childish worry that there won't be enough chairs at the council for her to have a spot. The She-Elf jumped with a start as she heard a clear distant ringing of a bell.

Upon the ringing, all the guests in the courtyard hurried into the Last Homely House with haste. _Was that supposed to be the summoning of the council?_ Cress wondered, tilting her head to one side. _I suppose I'd better go._

The Elf quickly darted into Elrond's house through a side door that faced the north and sprinted down the maze-like hallways, up wide staircases, and through archways. No one had even bothered to tell her where the council was being held.

After much persuading, Cress got one of the servant Elves to tell her where the council was. At this point, the She-Elf had determined that she was not welcome at the meeting. Why else would Elrond's household be so reluctant to tell her where it was located?

Cress cursed herself for not thinking of an exact plan to get into the council should she not receive a summon. She paced back and forth in front of the door that led to the porch where Bilbo always sat and where Gandalf and Elrond were holding the meeting, racking her brain for an idea of getting in. She paced so furiously that the two guards who stood at the door told her to go somewhere else as she was beginning to wear down the carpet.

It just so happened that at that moment, a servant Elf passed by, carrying a tray of Elvish pastries in the direction of the council room.

Cress abruptly stopped pacing and ran after her. "Pardon me, but would you be bringing these deserts to the Council of Elrond?"

The servant nodded fondly, "Yes, Lady Cress," she said. "Lord Elrond himself ordered these to be brought to the guests who have come so far, seeking our Lord's advice. They must be tired and hungry after their long journey; these cakes will bring them new energy with just one bite. Now, if you will excuse me, Lady, I must be going."

Cress made a split second decision. She stopped the servant again, before she could go on her way. "I'm sorry to bother you again," said she with a considerate smile. "But I think you work too hard."

The servant looked at her with confusion, "I am afraid I do not understand, my lady."

Improvising her next lines, Cress went on, "You deserve a break, my dear friend. Why don't you go enjoy yourself, and I shall take the food to Lord Elrond."

At this, the other Elf smiled gently, appreciating Cress' offer. "That is very kind of you, Lady Cress, but I think I can manage on my own. And it would not be right to make a guest serve her host as you are a guest of Lord Elrond."

"Uh…" Cress thought fast, her eyes shifting left and right with calculation. "Actually," she mentally congratulated herself on thinking up this next one. "It's no problem, really. And what I truly wanted to tell you was that, um… Lady… Arwen – yes, Lady Arwen – needed someone to go to her chambers."

Noting the way the servant's eyebrows rose with interest, Cress was encouraged to go on with her story. "Yes, she is in need of assistance as soon as possible. Her hair is… stuck in a… lamp," she mentally face palmed herself at the stupidity level that her tale was reaching. "She asked for you, specifically, so you'd better go to her. I'll take the cakes to Lord Elrond for you."

She reached for the tray, and the servant appeared to think for a moment before letting her take it. "Thank you, Lady Cress," the servant bowed low. "Lady Arwen must be tended to at once, and I thank you deeply for letting me know this. Please, I hope the tray isn't too heavy."

Cress faked an understanding smile and nodded enthusiastically until the servant was gone, heading in the direction of Arwen's chamber to help the Evenstar with her (nonexistent) hair problem. When she was out of sight, Cress breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, she carried the cake tray in both her hands in a waitress-like manner and strutted off to the porch. When she arrived at the door again, it was guarded by the same two Elves from before.

"I'm simply bringing refreshments for the Council," Cress explained with an innocent smile on her lips when the guards asked her what she was doing.

"Be quick," one of them ordered, and opened the door for her.

"Thank you," Cress stepped out into the morning sunlight as she came into the large round patio bordered by carefully trimmed trees, flower beds, and a semicircle of tall chairs where Elrond and his Council sat.

She gulped nervously as she took note of the tense atmosphere. Hands shaking slightly, Cress lifted the cake tray up to where its contents hid most of her face from view. She was sure that Gandalf would figure out her intentions if he saw her bring in the food. It would be best to not draw attention to herself.

_Just serve the food slowly, try to listen to as much as you can of what the Council is saying. Then, get out._ Cress nodded to herself reassuringly as she decided that her plan was simple enough.

The She-Elf took a deep breath before slowly walking over to the porch, still hiding her face behind the cake.

"… Give me leave, Master Elrond, to say more of Gondor," the Human that Cress had seen in the garden was standing and asking for permission to speak.

Cress, still shakily approaching the Council, prepared to start memorizing as much as she could of what the Human was about to say. As he continued, the She-Elf silently stepped onto the patio and began to offer deserts to the members, starting with Elrond, who accepted one without looking away from the Human.

Then, the She-Elf served the rest of the occupants of the porch, starting on the side of the semicircle to Elrond's left. Frodo was first, but he shook his head at the food when it was presented to him. He looked troubled and honestly a bit sick.

And so, Cress moved on to Bilbo who sat beside Frodo. The older hobbit gladly accepted a slice of the Elvish delicacy. Next was Gandalf.

The She-Elf held her breath as her Master reached out and received a cake. He, like Elrond, did not take his eyes off of the Human that was speaking to the Council about Gondor, and therefore did not notice that it was his student who was handing out the refreshments.

Beside Gandalf were a few of the Mirkwood Elves whom Cress had witnessed arriving at the Last Homely House earlier that morning. They too gladly accepted the offering of food.

Cress began to feel anxious as her tray became lighter to carry and fewer cakes were present for her to hide her face behind. When she got to the Elf sitting to the furthest right of the circle, he just so happened to take the slice that was Cress' main means of keeping her identity hidden from the eyes of the council members.

She gasped as her marshy brown eyes met the cool grey-blue ones of the Elf who had exposed her by innocently picking that slice of cake. Cress was mainly horrified that Gandalf would see her now that there weren't any more cake pieces big enough for her to hide behind. But she took note that the bright eyes of the male Elf were rather nice.

As soon as she locked eyes with the Mirkwood Elf, Cress immediately snapped her gaze away. She quickly tilted her head forward so that a curtain of her hair hid her face and hastily moved on to get rid of the rest of the cakes.

Two Dwarves who looked like father and son sat together beside the Elves. The younger of the two had the nerve to accept two cakes.

Then, Cress presented the Human from Gondor with the deserts, but he refused them, and continued speaking. Aragorn sat at the very end of the semicircle, furthest to Elrond's right. He too didn't accept any food.

Cress immediately made a move to leave before she gets discovered. She cursed under her breath as she realized she hadn't been listening to what was being exchanged among the council members as she was too busy trying to keep hidden. However, she knew if she lingered around for too long, the guards will get suspicious, so she hurried back into the mansion.

Before she got out of earshot, she heard a sentence that made her blood run cold.

"The Nameless Enemy has arisen again," said the Human. "Smoke rises once more from Orodruin that we call Mount Doom…"

Cress' breath hitched at this. She knew there was something going on, but didn't know it had anything to do with Mordor and Mount Doom. And who was this Nameless Enemy? The Elf guessed that he must be a very horrible enemy if he is "Nameless".

Quickly, Cress hurried on away from the patio as to not draw attention to herself by loitering around for no apparent reason. She left the golden light of day behind as she retreated back into the Last Homely House.

* * *

Back in her room, Cress stood on the balcony, leaning against the railing, trying to make sense of that small shred of information she heard while delivering pastries to the council.

The wind was blowing stronger than usual, and all she could hear was the empty sound of air rushing by her ears.

After many minutes of thinking up theories and ideas, Cress realized that she was getting nowhere. She needed more evidence, but she wasn't going to risk simple walking into the Council again. Perhaps posing as a servant wasn't the brightest idea.

The wind suddenly stopped blowing for a moment, leaving everything quiet and still. That was when the Elf heard muffled voice. Cress couldn't tell what they were saying, but they were definitely voice, voices that had been carried away by the wind before it could reach her ears.

They sounded close, maybe just a little ways away below her balcony.

Cress saw a golden opportunity at that second as she realized that, if she remembered the layout of the mansion correctly, the porch should be directly below her, perhaps a few levels down. She tried to lean far out from the railings of the balcony to see the Council below, but they were hidden by a layers and layers of overhanging roofs and parapets.

Whatever it took, Cress had to get to where she could hear the conversations of the Elves, Dwarves, and Men. Her curiosity concerning what she heard as a servant was like an itch she couldn't quite reach.

The She-Elf looked around, looking for a way to get closer to the Council hidden below. She shakily climbed over the elegant guard rails of her balcony and clumsily dropped down to the slanted roof of the level below her. It wasn't a long drop, but the way the roof tilted made Cress feel like she was going to fall off.

Clutching at the roof like a squirrel clutching a tree trunk, Cress sluggishly maneuvered her hands and feet in a manner that brought her closer and closer to the nearest fold of roof that could allow her to steadily climb from her room on the fourth floor to the roof of the ground level.

It was very slow and tedious work, but eventually the She-Elf found her way to the where she wanted to go. She crouched down on the lowest overhang of the mansion and followed the sound of voices to the ridge right above where the Council was having their debate.

The sun was almost reaching noon, and the tilt of Cress' hiding spot was just enough to hide her from the Council but also allow her a clear view of what was going on below her.

Before the She-Elf could get comfortable to hear and take in everything that comes to her ears, she noticed a shape crouching in the bushes behind Frodo's chair. The figure appeared to be hiding from the rest of the Council.

It was Sam, Cress realized. _What is _he _doing here? He wasn't invited! _She frowned as a voice in her head argued with her.

_Neither were you._

_ That's different! _Cress retorted heatedly to the voice at the back of her mind, trying to convince herself that she was not anywhere near as guilty as Sam. _I'm… I'm Master Gandalf's student. I'm supposed to know what my Master is doing and hearing. And besides, I've been living in this house for almost twenty years, mind you. Lord Elrond has nothing to hide from me; he should trust me._

_ Do you think he'll trust you after this?_

Cress rolled her eyes in a very childish and immature manner. _Please, who said Lord Elrond will find out about this? As far as he knows, I'm in my room being a good girl. As long as no one sees me up here, I'll be fine. Now be quiet! I'm trying to hear._

The voice went silent, and Cress was able to concentrate on the council again. At that moment, she looked down and saw that none of the Council members could see her, but Frodo's gardener had a perfect view of her lying on the roof.

Just as Cress realized this, Sam looked directly at her. They both gave a start as their eyes locked. Both of them held their breath as each waited for the other to blow their cover. But neither of them said a word.

When they looked at each other again, there was mental conversation between them through their anxious eyes.

_"What are _you_ doing here?!" _Sam's angry eyes read.

_ "What are _YOU _doing here?!" _Cress shot back, repeating the words in her mind as if somehow that would cause Sam to receive them like telepathy.

_ "I asked first." _The hobbit countered. Although he did not hear the Elf's message in his mind, it was pretty clear from the look on her face.

_ "…So?"_ Cress smirked with triumph, but it was short-lived.

_ "You're not supposed to be here!"_

_ "You're not supposed to, either! Just wait until I tell Master Gandalf and Elrond."_

_ "Don't you dare."_

_ "Try me.__"_

_ "Oh, yeah? How do you plan to tell Gandalf you knew I was here without telling him you were spying on the council, too?"_

_ "…"_

_ "Ha!"_

_ "I wasn't spying! For your information, this is not spying; it is observing… without telling the object of observation that you are observing them. It's perfectly acceptable!"_

_ "Fine, then I suppose I'm observing too."_

Cress sighed and shook her head at this pathetic conversation she was having with Sam. _"It seems that we both don't want to be caught 'observing' the council. If you don't tell on me, I won't reveal you. Deal?"_

_ "Agreed."_

Cress exhaled with relief. She looked away from the hiding hobbit and was finally able to put her mind on the exchange of words on the porch. Asides from Frodo, Bilbo, Gandalf, Elrond, and Aragorn, Cress knew not the names of the other Elves or Dwarves.

A tall tree with few leaves partly blocked her line of sight, but she could see enough by craning her neck once in a while.

The Mirkwood Elf with grey-blue eyes that she had encountered briefly while she was acting as a servant was speaking. Now that Cress watched him from a distance, he really was highly attractive, and his voice, though gentle and soft, could be heard by all in the Council.

"Sméagol, who is now called Gollum, has escaped," he was saying. Cress had no idea what that meant, but she guessed that it wasn't good news by the look on the Elf's face and Aragorn's response.

"Escaped!" the Ranger cried. "That is ill news indeed. How came the folk of Thranduil to fail in their trust?"

Cress frowned at this. She recognized the name of the Elven-king of Mirkwood but knew little of "Sméagol" or "Gollum". She assumed this creature was not friendly with the Council.

The council went on debating things that the She-Elf found to be very confusing. She regretted not thinking of hiding on the roof sooner. If she had arrived earlier, she might have been able to hear some background information which would have explained a lot at this point.

For a few minutes, Cress tuned out during the exchange about Gollum escaping from Mirkwood after Aragorn hunted him and brought him to Thranduil. When Gandalf's voice spoke up, the She-Elf immediately perked up with attention.

However, what she heard, she wished she hadn't. At this time, Gandalf explained of the betrayal of Saruman, which hit Cress like a sucker punch in the face.

The wizard told of how he had gone to the head of the White Council by recommendation of his friend Radagast and of how Saruman the White revealed that he had joined forces with Sauron. He even had the nerve to invite Gandalf to the Dark Side as well!

Then, when Gandalf refused to join (thank goodness), Saruman kept him as a prisoner at the very top of Orthanc, the Tower of Isengard, until the Eagle called Gwaihir came to rescue him.

It was so surreal to hear about Gandalf needing help, rescuing, or being in any kind of situation that he couldn't sort out himself.

Cress liked to think of her Master as invincible; there is nothing in the world that can give him any difficulty. He could sort out practically anything, and something must be very strong and evil to be able to keep even Gandalf at bay.

The tale of Saruman's betrayal was a long one, and Cress felt more and more horrible with every word her Master said. When he was finished, the Council was silent, and the She-Elf did not dare to breathe for fear that someone would hear her in the quietness.

At last, Elrond spoke. "This is grievous news concerning Saruman," he began. "We have heard the tale of the Ring from beginning to end, and now it is time to decide its fate. From the knowledge you have brought to me, I fear we only have one option; the Ring must be sent to the Fires of Mount Doom. One of you must do this."

He gazed around at the faces of his guests.

"Say no more, Master Elrond!" Bilbo cried suddenly. "Very well, very well, I understand what you are trying to point out. Bilbo the silly hobbit started this affair, and so Bilbo should be the one to finish it."

Cress couldn't tell if he was being serious, but whatever the case she did not wish to see the old hobbit leave Rivendell and walk to his death – Mordor. He was too old for that and would surely perish along the way. Cress wanted to object to Bilbo's offer, but she quickly remembered that she shouldn't even be here and kept quiet.

"When ought I to start?" Bilbo asked after a short rant about how his book would not end in 'happily ever after' and that he'd have to add more chapters to it.

Boromir, the Human from Gondor (Cress picked up his name during the discussions), started laughing because he, like the She-Elf, thought Bilbo was making a joke. But he quickly stopped when he saw that everyone else was gazing at the hobbit with grave respect.

Frodo had been silent throughout the entire council, and he remained that way.

Elrond leaned forward to say something to Bilbo, but Cress did not hear; at that moment, a large bee came buzzing about toward her. She, having a deathly fear of being bitten, scratched, or stung by animals, barely suppressed a shriek as the bee landed on her shoulder.

Cress' entire body shook with fear, but she did not dare to try and swat the bee away for fear of being stung. She'd never liked the idea of stingers, teeth, or claws sinking into her skin, even if it's just a little bee. She wouldn't even try to blow the insect away due to paranoia of angering the little thing.

The bee buzzed and lifted off from her shoulder. However, it did not go away. Cress tried to scramble away from the bee as quietly as she could, but it wasn't easy at all. The bee kept getting in her face, and not screaming was already hard enough for the She-Elf. She also had to maneuver around the roof to get away from the bug and not get noticed by the Council at the same time.

Meanwhile, the sun started to lean toward the west, casting the overhang and Cress' shadow into the patio. Gandalf frowned as he stared at the floor of the porch and saw a rapidly moving feminine shadow. He slowly looked up and saw his student scrambling clumsily across the roof, trying to get away from a mere bee.

"I will take the Ring," Frodo suddenly said, breaking the silence that had enveloped the council after Elrond confirmed that Bilbo will not be forced to go to Mordor; "though I do not know the way."

Gandalf stood up from his chair so quickly that everyone jumped with a start. "Crescent!" he shouted with more force than anyone thought he was capable of.

For a few seconds, everyone was confused and quiet, unsure of what Gandalf yelled for. They all followed his gaze on the overhanging roof behind Elrond. Moments later, Cress slowly shuffled into view.

The bee was gone, thank goodness, but now Cress had another problem: Gandalf's wrath. Not to mention everyone in the meeting below was staring up at her. The She-Elf gulped audibly, hoping that if Gandalf was going to reprimand her, he'd at least do it in private and not in front of all the Council members.

No such luck.

"Get down from there," the old wizard said softly. That wasn't a good sign. When Gandalf spoke this softly, he was either very ill or very angry.

Cress did not dare to disobey. She looked up at the sky briefly and prayed to all the gods above that she would live to see the next day. Then, she bowed her head with shame as she slowly leapt from the roof of the Last Homely House to the tree behind Elrond. Climbing down the tree very sluggishly, she kept her eyes casted downwards as she submissively walked over to where Gandalf stood.

"Tell me what you were doing up there, Crescent," the wizard said stiffly.

Cress felt her mouth go dry as the use of her real name. In a small voice she whispered, "Observing."

"Louder."

The She-Elf gulped again and only said what she knew was safe, "I was observing, Master Gandalf. I was observing the Council."

The wizard quirked an eyebrow humorlessly at this. "And you insisted on 'observing' us from the roofs, I take it?" When his apprentice said nothing, he went on. "How much did you hear?"

"Not much," Cress said hurriedly. "I was very busy trying to escape the bee, you see. And the bits and pieces I _did_ hear – which, I assure you, wasn't much – I do not understand at all. I'll just be going now; I'll let you go back to your Council about the Ring – er, whatever you're debating about. I know nothing concerning a Ring. I don't even know what the One Ring is or Sauron or Grandmaster Saruman joining – "

Realizing that she was rambling and making a fool of herself, she quickly turned to make a quick escape from the calculating eyes of the Council.

"Cress, come back this instant," Gandalf ordered before she could even take two steps.

Cress froze with her back still turned toward the wizard. She waited for the harsh words to start coming and was aware that Elrond, the hobbits, the Mirkwood Elves, the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain, Aragorn, and Boromir were all watching.

"To eavesdrop on a private council is improper," Gandalf said, his voice hard and difficult to listen to. "But to spy on a secret council in the house of Lord Elrond is unacceptable. You are to pay your respects to Lord Elrond and the council for your behavior."

"Now?" Cress stuttered.

Gandalf nodded.

His student hesitated, but knew better than to flat-out refuse. Looking around at the occupants of the porch wearily, Cress tried to sound as sincere and sorry as she could. "I apologize, members of Elrond's Council. I should not have observed - " Gandalf glared at her. " – spied on you from the roof. And I am sorry for interrupting your very important debate with my juvenile behavior. Please go back to it right now."

Cress thought that was pretty acceptable, but Gandalf didn't look completely satisfied. "Go," he said, motioning to the door, but his face told her that this wasn't over yet.

The Elf obeyed and began to walk in that direction. But then, she turned back around to face the Council after a sudden thought hit her like a bolt of lightning. "Master Gandalf?"

The wizard did not answer, but he was listening.

Cress took a deep breath, "Concerning Frodo going to Mount Doom with the One Ring… I know you're going to offer to go with him."

At this, several Council members looked at Gandalf questioningly, but Cress ignored them and continued, "Don't try to deny it, Master Gandalf. I _know _you're going to leave again. This time, I'm coming with you."

Gandalf opened his mouth to retort, but his student went on without giving him a chance to object.

"You're not leaving me here again," she continued. Then, she looked over in Elrond's direction. "I don't wish to offend your home, Master Elrond, but I think I have stayed here as long as my mind could take. If Master Gandalf is to leave, I'm going with him."

"You will do no such thing," Gandalf said in an edgy tone.

Cress shrugged, "I knew you would think negatively toward this proposal, but I am simply telling you my plans. You do not have to agree with them." Deciding not to say more or to stay to hear the comments of the Council, she made a quick bow and left them alone.

* * *

_A/N: Here's a long chapter for my two lovely reviewers, and if you didn't review… thanks for favoriting! I didn't think this story would be so popular. I know 7 favorites isn't really that much, but it makes me so happy that even one person cared enough to review or liked it enough to favorite. This chapter was for you. I typed non-stop on it! You're awesome_

_Next Time: The Fellowship of the Ring is formed and starts out from Rivendell. Will Cress be able to join with Gandalf so angry with her? How will she convince her enraged Master to let her go on the adventure? Will she have the nerve to sneak after the Fellowship if she is denied entry? Find out next chapter! REVIEWS make me write faster ^_^_


	5. Chapter V

Chapter V:

Cress couldn't quite believe what she just did. She had been caught while spying on the Council of Elrond, been reprimanded in front of all the members, then she probably made things even worse by talking back to Gandalf like an immature little kid. She couldn't imagine what short of punishment he'd give her. It must be horrible; Gandalf was a kind person, but he did not tolerate misbehavior from his one and only student whom he had taught better.

Cress was back in the Last Homely House, and the guards looked at her questioningly, wondering how she got into the Council room. She didn't stay to give them an account of her humiliating experience and instead made her way toward her room again. She was careful to avoid Arwen's chamber as the poor servant Elf from before must have figured out by now that Cress had tricked her. Now that Cress looked back at it, lying to the servant was pretty horrible of her, and now she felt that she would get an even harsher punishment from Gandalf if, God forbid, he found out about her sneaking into the porch as a servant before coming up with the idea of eavesdropping from the roof.

_What have I done? _ The She-Elf thought miserably as she approached her chambers. Nothing good came out of her two futile attempts to infiltrate the Council. Well, actually, she could think of at most one thing that she found to be a good result of her recent embarrassment; she found out that her Master was going to ditch her again, and this time she knew where he was going so there was no way he was going to get rid of her so easily this time. This time, Cress knew enough information to accompany the wizard and Frodo on this journey concerning the Ring.

Cress wondered if Sam had been discovered yet and if so, would he too be receiving grave consequences for his cheek, if not graver? The selfish part of her wished that the hobbit will also be found and dealt with as severely as she did. It would be nice to have someone to share the shame with, but Cress knew it was wrong to hope for something so self-assisting. She now felt even worse for even thinking about it.

The Council ended shortly after Cress was detected. Whether this was a coincidence or not, she did not know, but she dreaded the moment when Gandalf would come looking for her. The She-Elf sat curled up in her room, rocking back and forth with anticipation, but Gandalf never came up. And when dinnertime came, she did not leave her chamber for the fear of running into her Master at the dining room and being reprimanded there as if the Council wasn't bad enough.

After dinner, there finally came a knock at Cress' door. The She-Elf had spent so much time staring blankly into space that the sharp sound of knuckles on her wood caused her to jump with a start. Her head snapped in the direction of the sound and dread quickly filled her being. She decided not to answer and pretend that she was asleep, but the knock came again.

"I advise you to open the door, Cress, if you do not wish for me to split it to splinters," Gandalf's voice could be heard from the other side. He did not sound as angry as before, but he was agitated with Cress' useless attempt to avoid contact with him.

The She-Elf shot up from the floor where she sat, raced to the door, and swung it open. The wizard's silhouette stood in the doorway. He appeared to have calmed down a bit since the Council and now spoke in a civil but stern tone.

"I have not forgiven you for what you did today," he said. "But I suspected that you have already pieced together a lot of what you heard at the Council. There is no need to keep it from you now. Follow me, please, Cress." He turned and strode down the hallway, not bothering to make sure that his student was following him.

Cress, realizing that Gandalf was planning on telling her something important and wasn't going to punish her at that moment, immediately went after him. She and her Master walked side by side through the corridors of the Last Homely House and down a few flights of stairs. In some rooms they passed, Cress noticed Elves singing and dancing merrily; they paid no attention to the wizard and his apprentice.

In time, Gandalf and Cress reached a room that was far away from the parties and celebration. There were armchairs inside and a small fireplace lit the dark chamber. It appeared to be a room made for privacy as there were no windows, and the door was heavy. The ceiling was rather high, but there was no echo despite this.

Gandalf motioned for his student to sit on one of the armchairs by the fire before sinking into the one of them himself.

Cress cautiously sat on the very edge of her chair and had her hands curling up in fists on her lap. Her back was straight and stiff as she was not comfortable being in such a tense atmosphere. She waited for Gandalf to say something and possibly explain why he brought her here.

Her Master watched her for a few minutes before saying, "I will tell you what you want to know of what was discussed at the Council today. I don't see any more point in hiding it now that you already know some of it. I advise you to sit back, Cress, this tale will take a long time to explain."

And so, Gandalf told his student of the tale of the One Ring from beginning to finish; starting with the forgery of the nineteen rings for Elves, Dwarves, and Men and ending with Frodo's account of his adventures before reaching Rivendell. There were many times when Cress interrupted to ask a question, and the wizard answered to the best of his knowledge.

The tale, indeed, was very long and Cress felt that she was ready for bed after Gandalf was finished with the story. Her mind was swirling with the large amounts of information she received in one night, but she did not wish to hear more until she had gotten some sleep. Also, she saw this as a good chance to get out of the room before Gandalf remembered that she deserved a punishment for spying on the Council of Elrond.

Cress yawned exaggeratedly and started getting up from her chair, "I suppose I ought to go to bed now, Master. It's been an exciting day, but I think I must be going – "

"Sit," Gandalf ordered, knowing what his student was trying to do.

The She-Elf cursed at Luck for never being with her and sank back down into her armchair reluctantly. "Yes, Master?"

"Now we must speak of your punishment," the wizard said. "As you know, I have the right to dismiss you have my student and from my sight after what you have done today. And I _should _be dismissing you without a word."

Cress' eyes widened in sheer horror at this. All of her sleepiness had flushed out of her upon hearing those words. She gave a short cry and flung herself out of her chair and to Gandalf's feet. "No! Master, I can take any punishment except that. Please, you must think of another penalty you place on me; just don't leave me by myself. I still have so much more I must learn from you."

"Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't be discussing this at all," Gandalf said, paying no attention to the Elf who was bowing at him as if he was a god of some sort. "But, I have been swayed to not send you from my sight so quickly. I spoke with Lord Elrond after the Council and – "

Cress shot up from the floor with so much force that the flame in the fireplace flickered. If it were possible, her eyes got even wider upon hearing this. "Thank you so very much, Master Gandalf. I am forever in your debt. I swear, I will never disappoint you again."

"Let me finish," the wizard said. "I spoke with Lord Elrond after the Council and you should thank him, not me, for your delayed punishment. Lord Elrond did not take too much offense in the disturbance of his Council, but I expected better out of you. Upon Lord Elrond's counselling, I have decided to give you two options at to what your penalty would be."

He paused for a second, and Cress had crawled back into her chair, practically shaking with an odd mixture of worry, anticipation, and excitement. "Yes?"

"The first choice that I give you is to accompany Frodo, me, and any others who may wish to join the Company on our journey to destroy the Ring."

Before he could elaborate more on this, Cress's head snapped to attention and she immediately said, "I pick the first option."

Gandalf shook his head. "Wait for me to finish, Cress," he appeared to be getting annoyed with all the interruptions. "The first choice I offer to you is to accompany me to destroy the Ring, but it will be a dangerous road."

The Elf opened her mouth to point out that she wasn't afraid of anything… well, expect bees and Wargs and other animals with dangerous teeth and claws. But the look on Gandalf's face made her shut her mouth before any sound could escape.

"The journey to Mordor will be full of risks and hazards," the wizard went on; "and if we both should make it back alive from this dreadful mission, I will no longer be your teacher, and you shall be dismissed."

"_What?!_" Cress hissed. She had just been certain of picking the first option before she learned of the last condition of it. "But that isn't just! It's twisted and - "

"Both Lord Elrond and I have determined that it is reasonably fair, Cress." He went on to explaining option number two before the Elf could argue. "And my second offer to you is the opposite of the first; you can stay here while I accompany the Ring, and if I come back alive, I am still your Master and you are still my student."

Cress' mouth hung open in an 'o' and not knowing what to say, she simply gaped at Gandalf like a lunatic. Gandalf showed no signs of being bothered by this, and he merely lit his pipe and sat back to wait for his student's answer. Only when she felt her tongue go completely dry did Cress shut her mouth and spoke. "Please tell me there's a third choice."

The wizard shook his head humbly and continued to smoke his pipe and occasionally blew smoke rings. The Elf sat there, her eyes blank as she went through the pros and cons of each decision.

If she stayed at Rivendell, she can still be Gandalf's apprentice, but what if the wizard perished on the journey to Mordor? What if he doesn't come back at all? Where would Cress be then? She would have to return to Lothlórien and resume the quiet life she had before she met Gandalf. The thought of losing her Master was too hard to think about, and Cress moved on to the other choice.

She could go with her Master and protect him on the journey in which she would probably be killed. But, if she was fortunate enough to survive until it is all over, she will still be parted from Gandalf. Now that Cress thought about it, both her options were very risky and the more she pondered them, the more she realized it was a lose-lose situation. One was to miss out on the adventure of a lifetime and continue being mentored by Gandalf and the other was to experience the adventure but be on her own afterwards.

It was like choosing between going the journey and the wizard. Which one is more important to her? Gandalf, obviously.

Still, Cress determined that she would rather have her Master be alive and parted from her than dead with the promise that he would come back. As the minutes ticked by, she started leaning toward the first option. _If I prove to be useful on the mission, perhaps Master Gandalf will decide not to dismiss me. _She knew that that was an unstable bet, but it was best she could think of to comfort herself. She could only hope that the wizard will go back on his punishment once Cress does something useful or impressive on the journey of the One Ring.

"I…" Cress started hesitantly. "I wish to accompany the Company of the One Ring, Master Gandalf."

Gandalf looked a bit surprised by this, but did not say anything that would incline Cress to change her mind. "Very well. You wish to have an adventure. But I must say I expected you to choose to stay in Rivendell in the end. I suppose I underestimated your determination to come with me, otherwise I wouldn't have given you the choice of a penalty. It would have been punishment enough for you to have to remain here while I go out into the world. Now, it is too late to change my mind; you have chosen one of the two paths I laid out for you. So be it."

Cress wasn't completely sure if she did the right thing, but she didn't feel trapped anymore. She was happy even for she was finally going to leave the last Homely House after so many years and go on a real voyage with her Master. Her first objective would be to stay alive and keep Gandalf alive. Then, she'll do something heroic to ensure that the wizard would take her back as a student. Cress nodded at her plan; it had many holes and risks in it, but the Elf decided that she'll figure out how to deal with them later.

"Is that all, then?" she asked her mentor after a few seconds of silence. Cress got up from her chair and stretched. "I should go back to my chambers now. I'd best get ready for the journey; pack my things, say fare-wells, those sort of things. When are we leaving?"

"I cannot say. We must time our departure precisely. Lord Elrond shall inform us when it is safe to leave Rivendell," Gandalf replied briefly, his eyes glued to the fading embers of the fireplace. "Go get some rest, Cress. I will wake you when it is time to depart."

Cress quietly left the room, leaving the wizard inside with his deep thoughts, and hurried back to her sleeping quarters. Because she didn't have many possessions, the Elf was able to get her things stuffed into her drawstring sack in a short amount of time. She was just about to put her diary into the bag when she chose to write a small, simple entry before going to sleep.

_Dearest Diary,_

_I am to accompany Master Gandalf and his Company on their quest to destroy the legendary One Ring of Sauron of Mordor. This could be the wisest choice I have ever made or it could be the most foolish. Master Gandalf emphasized that the journey will be dangerous and that it is unlikely either of us will come back to Rivendell alive. My biggest hope is that I can at least keep my master safe on this quest, even if he should dismiss me afterwards. It is better to let your loved ones go alive than to keep them but dead. _

_On a happier note, I do hope that it will just be Master, Frodo, and me in the Company. Master Gandalf never told me anything about whom else was going to come with us, but I expect that it will only be the three of us. It will be much friendlier that way, and all members of the Company will be closer if there weren't so many people to get to know. And besides, who else would want to join this "dangerous" and "perilous" mission? It would be total insanity to volunteer for it, but I have an acceptable reason. Anyone else who wishes to go to Mordor with us must be blooming mad._

_-Cress_

* * *

Seven people were blooming mad.

Cress stood beside Gandalf in the courtyard of the Last Homely House two months later. The sun was just beginning to rise, and they were waiting for the other members of the Fellowship of the Ring (that was what Gandalf told Cress the Company was called). Cress was surprised that there were more people willing to join.

As she written in her diary many weeks ago, anyone else who wanted to come on this terribly risky quest must be out of their right mind. But, to her great shock, _seven_ others showed up in the courtyard at dawn. They all have joined the Fellowship and were ready to walk to their dooms.

Cress' eyes bugged as she noticed Samwise Gamgee, Frodo's friend/gardener, rushing up to his master, carrying a large duffle bag on his shoulders with various cooking utensils hanging off the back. _You have _got _to be kidding me, _the Elf thought, _how in Middle-earth did _Sam _weasel his way into the Company? Did he even get caught for spying on the Council?_

Gandalf pointed out and named two younger hobbits who were mingling with Frodo and Sam. "That is Meriadoc of the Brandybuck family and Peregrin Took. You may call them Merry and Pippin if you cannot remember their names, Cress." Then, the wizard motioned to Aragorn and Boromir who had just arrived in the courtyard. "Aragorn and Boromir represent Men in the Fellowship." Next was the squat little Dwarf from the Council whom Gandalf pointed out to be Gimli son of Gloin. And to represent the Elves was Legolas son of Thranduil from Mirkwood.

Cress frowned when she noticed that she was the only female in the Company. She was slightly disappointed by this, but she didn't make a fuss over it. None of these companion _looked _like they had lost their mind, but Cress was still unsure of the stability of level of their intellect. She did not say anything for she knew that would offend some of the companions, and she also avoided Legolas' gaze since she recognized him as the Elf she had seen at Elrond's Council and did not want him to realize that she was the "servant" who served him cakes.

When it was time to leave, the sun had risen a little higher in the east, and Elrond's household filed into the courtyard to bid the Fellowship farewell. Each member of the Fellowship was given large packs full of supplies to carry on their backs, save Sam who already packed his own. Some had food while others contained basic items that can be used to build a campsite. Every member of the Company took with them some sort of weapon. Whether it was a sword or a knife or a bow, Cress was certain that they were going to be put to use at one point or another. She herself stashed a few knowing knives in her luggage and kept her flute at her belt.

The She-Elf was given the clothes worn by a male Elf for she refuse to wear a dress or skirt. She was clad in green and silver, and the top layer of her hair was braided in a complex circlet around her head while the main portion was left down. Her shoulders were small and feminine so that her clothes looked a bit big on her, but she wasn't bothered by this.

When Cress was given her backpack of supplies, her eyes widened comically at the size of the thing. If the She-Elf curled up tightly, she probably could have fit inside the giant pack. Cress swallowed nervously as she saw everyone shoulder their packs with ease as if the size of the baggage didn't affect them at all. Uncertainly following the others' examples, Cress slowly tried to shoulder her own pack, but she found, to her great humiliation and dismay, that she could hardly even lift it.

Cursing under her breath about how she was really out of shape, Cress tried again, heaving and pushing the massive backpack in a futile attempt to get it on her shoulders. She grunted in frustration after a few minutes and looked around to see that the rest of the Fellowship was ready to leave; they were all waiting for her to get that cursed backpack on.

Gimli the Dwarf rolled his eyes at her in genuine annoyance. For a short little fellow like him, he could carry his load just fine. He grumbled as he walked over to where Cress was struggling and easily lifted up the pack for her.

"Oh, thank you," Cress said with a smile of relief. Then, Gimli dropped the heavy thing on her shoulders, and the She-Elf gave a short yelp from the sudden weight and stumbled around for a few seconds, trying to regain her balance. Once she got her footing again, she turned and glared at the Dwarf. "I take my thanks back."

"I don't need and neither to do I _want_ the gratitude of an Elf," Gimli replied grumpily before going back to join the rest of the Company.

Cress rolled her eyes and winced as she adjusted the heavy pack on her back. Then, she walked over to stand beside Gandalf with her back hunched a little for she was afraid that the weight of her load might tip her backwards if she stood up straight.

Now that all the Fellowship was ready, Elrond stepped forward to say a few words, "The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On him alone is any charge laid. The rest of the Company will go with him as free companions. No oath or bond is laid upon you to go further than you are willing. However, I should inform you that the further you go, the harder it will be to withdraw."

The Fellowship took the words in and bowed once to the Lord of Rivendell before setting out of the courtyard in a single file line. Aragorn and Gandalf led the Company and Frodo was behind them. Everyone else followed them with Cress struggling to get to the front of the train. She wished to walk with her master, but the effort of keeping the giant backpack on was causing her to lag behind before they even got off of Elrond's property.

"Good... Good luck!" Bilbo cried as they were leaving.

Cress turned around to look at Elrond's household one last time and beamed brightly to assure them that the Fellowship will be fine. Then, she turned back toward the road that the Company was taking out of Rivendell and hurried after them, her pack bouncing up and down against her back as she ran.

* * *

_A/N: Heeeeeey~ As always, thanks for reading. I've been having so much fun writing these chapters for you. Drop a review for me, will you? I'm so happy with the hit count and Followers/Favorite-ors, but reviews are truly like fuel for an author's mind, concentration, and hands (for typing quickly)! _

_Next time: So the journey has begun. As the Fellowship of the Ring goes south and heads into the mountainous lands of Eregion, what sort of adventures will Cress have in the snow and ice? Also, what will she write about each members of the Fellowship in her diary? _


	6. Chapter VI

_A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! You're all wonderful, and the favorite and followers count is also going up slowly; I'm so happy! I should first point out that this chapter will have some Elvish phrases between Cress and Legolas. I have put a little superscripted number above each word or sentence in Elvish, and at the end of the chapter it will be translated for you. Or you can pull up an Elvish glossary and try to figure it out yourself, but just be forewarned that there will be strange languages in this chapter and possibly in the future. Okay, enough of me, enjoy the chapter ~_

* * *

*Chapter VI:

The Fellowship was mostly quiet as they journeyed out of Rivendell, and only Gandalf and Aragorn could be heard, discussing plans and debating which road they should take. Everyone else walked behind them without saying a word.

Cress did not like this silence. It was too awkward and tense. She couldn't tell if the lack of sound was from fear, serenity, or ill-temper. Perhaps it was a mixture of all of them? Cress lagged behind from the rest of the group because of the weight of her backpack, but she wasn't alone like she had expected.

Legolas, who was assigned as the rearguard due to his keen eyesight, walked with her at the end of the line. Cress discovered that he was very kind when she straggled away from the main group and he would be considerate enough to wait for her each time she had to stop to catch her breath. Cress still couldn't quite believe how out of shape she was; even the hobbits walked faster and lasted longer than she did.

Gandalf advised the Fellowship to rest in the daytime and travel in the darkness of night as they would be less easily detected by spies of the Enemy that way. As they approached the Misty Mountains, it started to get very cold, and the wind was merciless, never ceasing its bitter blasts of icy air. The sun was hidden by thick clouds, which must have brought the dreary atmosphere of the members of the Company.

On the second day of the journey, they were already behind schedule, and Cress was starting to let the silence of the Fellowship get to her head. She began to feel boredom washing over her from doing nothing but walk all day. If there was some conversation going, that would have been nice, but the only ones who talked were Gandalf and Aragorn, who excluded everyone else from the conversation.

At last, Cress sighed and decided that she _had_ to start a chat among the members of the Fellowship or she might go mad.

When the Company stopped for sleep at the very base of the Misty Mountains, Cress was eager to have a talk with all the companions she didn't know very well and learn everything about them that she possibly could for this would help her to get along with everyone.

The first person she attempted to speak to was Boromir, for he was assigned first watch. The Man sat on a rock near the others and started his two hour session.

When Cress was sure that the others were asleep, she crawled out from under her thin blanket and approached Boromir innocently.

The sun was still up, so Boromir didn't have to take his watch very seriously.

Cress skipped over to where the Human sat and flopped down beside him in a carefree manner. "Hello, Mister Boromir," she greeted with a bright smile. "You seem so lonely sitting here by yourself. I shall keep watch with you, if you don't mind; just so you'll have someone to talk to, of course."

"Thank you," Boromir said with a soft smile. He appeared to be a kind person from what the Elf could tell.

Cress crossed her legs and put her hands in her lap, rocking back and force in a naïve sort of way. "Master Gandalf told me you were from Gondor," she said, inviting him into conversation and hoping that she had picked a good topic to talk about. "Will you tell me about your country? I don't think I've ever been that far south. I'm from the Golden Wood, you see, but I have never gone further south than Isengard."

Judging from the enthusiastic way Boromir responded, he must have been very proud of Gondor, for he spoke for a long time of his country and of the bravery on its men. He told Cress about Minas Tirith, a mighty city of white stone, and his brother Faramir and his father, the Steward of Gondor for Gondor had no king. He also told many tales of the heroic deeds of his ancestors and the wonder of the White Tree of the King when it was in full blossom.

The Elf sat patiently, listening to every story Boromir told, though she started getting bored after the fourth or fifth one. But she did not ask the Human to stop for she wished to seem polite and respectful, and from the way Boromir's eyes lit up when she asked him about Gondor, Cress did not have the heart to put him down.

At last, perhaps after over half of the watch time was over, Boromir finally ran out of legends to tell, and he asked Cress about her homeland. "The Golden Wood, is it? I have heard many stories of Lothlórien, but none are consistent. Some say that it full of sorcery and witchcraft, and others describe it as a place of wordless beauty."

"I suppose it is both," Cress said thoughtfully. "Lothlórien _is_ lovely to look at, but I have not been there for so long, I cannot remember much save that it has trees of white trunks and glittering golden leaves. And there is a magic at work as well, though it is a good sort of magic, I think. My mother told me that it keeps the Wood alive and healthy."

"My mother passed away many years ago," Boromir said grimly. "Afterwards, my father became silent and depressed, sitting long in his tower deep in thought."

Cress tilted her head to one side in genuine sympathy. At first, she was pleasantly surprised that the Man told her something so personal considering they had only been talking for less than two hours. "I… I am sorry, Mister Boromir," the Elf said at last. She suddenly felt a connection toward Boromir, and did not hesitate to reveal some of her own history.

"I never really knew my _Ada_," she told him. "He and my mother separated when I was very little. There are times when I feel great sadness about it, but I have Mother; she's taken good care of me. And I also have Haldir the Marchwarden of Lórien, who has been my friend for many decades and is like a brother to me. Though I have not seen either of them for a long time, when I return home someday I know they will be happy to see me again."

The Elf and the Man fell silent for a few minutes after that. Then, Cress spoke again, "I found comfort in talking to you, Mister Boromir. I believe your watch is almost over, so why don't you get some rest? I shall rouse whoever is supposed to take your place."

Boromir rose from the rock and stretched with relief, "Your words of the Golden Wood were most interesting and have stirred a desire within me to go see it for myself. Perhaps we will pass through your home on our journey."

"I hope so," Cress perked up at the mention. "I do not know the plans of Master Gandalf and Lord Aragorn, so I do not know the path that they will decide to take. We might end up going around Lórien or simply following the Mountains all the way to Rohan. There are many ways to go south from here." She surveyed the other members of the Fellowship who were asleep. "Now, who shall I wake up for the next watch?"

Boromir turned toward the sleeping forms before him, and looked around for a moment before pointing at Legolas who slept a few feet away with his back turned toward them. "If I remember correctly, the next watch goes to Legolas."

"Really?" Cress asked, glancing over at the Prince. Then, she struggled carelessly, "Very well, you may go to sleep, Mister Boromir."

Boromir gave her a nod of thanks before disappearing under a blanket that was laid out for him.

When the Human was gone, she walked over to where the Mirkwood Elf was lying on the ground, preparing to shake him awake. But when she stepped over his body to where she could see his face, she jumped with a start.

At first, she thought he was awake already and had heard everything she shared with Boromir, but she quickly realized that Legolas was only sleeping with his eyes open.

Cress swallowed nervously at the way the blue eyes stared blankly and lifelessly ahead at nothing in particular. She took a few slow breaths to calm herself and get the image of empty, staring orbs out of her head, for they were truly a bit creepy. Then, she proceeded to poking Legolas on the shoulder to rouse him from his sleep.

Life immediately filled his irises again as Legolas came out of his waking meditative state.

"Get up," Cress whispered so that she wouldn't wake the others. "It's your watch."

The Elf instantly picked himself up from the ground without complaining, not showing any sign of still being sleepy or of his eyes drying up from keeping them open for so long. He did not say anything to Cress for he had expected her to go to sleep after waking him, but the She-Elf skipped along behind him like a playful puppy and followed him to the same rock where Boromir had sat.

Cress watched Legolas climb on top of the rock instead of sitting, surveying the lands around them. Chewing on her bottom lip for a few seconds, thinking, Cress said, "I wanted to thank you, Legolas, for being patient with me these past two days. I know I must be slowing the Fellowship down with my poor stamina."

"That is why you should probably get some rest," Legolas answered, still standing tall on top of the rock and staring out into the distance. "It's not your turn to keep watch, so why do you not sleep?"

"Well, I wish to have some time individually with every member of our Company. That way, I can learn about them and become better friends…" She trailed off when she realized that Legolas wasn't looking at her as she was speaking. Cress frowned up at him, "Will you come down? I feel very lowly having to look upwards while speaking to you. Just what is so interesting up there?" She didn't wait for a response before crawling on the rock and managing to get to her feet beside the Prince to see what he saw.

It was almost evening, and, standing on top of the boulder, the Elves could see over the sea of treetops and catch a view of the red sun sinking below the Misty Mountains in the west. Only then did Cress realize how close the Fellowship already was to the Mountains. Perhaps in less than a day they would have to start climbing. But for the time being, she could only stare in awe at the setting sun, and she quickly understood why Legolas was so fond of standing there.

"That's a good reason," Cress murmured feebly, and Legolas smiled.

They were quiet for some time; it was a peaceful silence as they watched the sun slowly riding down behind the Mountains. However, the serene silence quickly turned into an awkward one, and Cress began to feel uncomfortable, not knowing what to say. Finally, she thought of something that should cure the soundlessness. "Legolas, let's play a game."

"What kind of game?" the other Elf replied.

"It's a very simple game," Cress said. "One of us will think of something and the other shall try to guess what it is by asking questions that can only be answered with a 'yes' or a 'no'."

"Very well, that sounds easy enough. Let us begin."

"You can think of something first."

Cress waited as Legolas took some time to think. When the Prince had something in mind, he said, "I am ready. You can start asking your questions."

The She-Elf bounced on her toes excitedly, happy that Legolas agreed to play this game of hers. This game was one she played quite often when she lived in Lothlórien, and it passed the time very well. Surely, there won't be any more awkward silences during Legolas' watch. Cress thought for a while and asked, "Is it alive?"

Legolas nodded.

Cress' eyes shifted left and right as she considered her options. "Can it fly?"

"_Û _[1]," the Prince shook his head.

For a split second, Cress didn't know what "_Û_" meant. "I beg your pardon?"

Legolas frowned at her in confusion, "Do you not know the Elvish language?" he asked, evidently a bit surprised that an Elf did not know her own native tongue.

"Uh… well," Cress laughed nervously, her face beginning to heat up with embarrassment. "I am more familiar with the Common Tongue now. You see, my mother spoke mostly in the Common Tongue, so that was the first language I learned. I'm certain you have noticed that my name isn't even Elvish; it was taken from the Common word 'crescent' for my mother's favorite moon phase is the waxing crescent.

"I know the Elvish language, but I'm afraid it does not sound as natural coming out of my mouth than it is supposed to." Now that Cress thought about it, it has been a long time since someone has had a conversation with her in Elvish. Most of Elrond's household had spoken in the Common Tongue, and Gandalf knew many languages but still preferred the most well-known of them all.

"Try it," Legolas said encouragingly.

Cress wanted to refuse at first, but the more she imagined words and phrases in Elvish, the more she remembered how beautiful it sounded. However, she still wasn't sure how it would actually sound coming out of her mouth that had not spoken them in many decades. "Don't laugh at me," she warned the Mirkwood Prince before taking a deep breath and stumbling through a simple introduction, "_Ni veren an dhe ngovaned, Legolas. I enethen Cress. _[2]"

"_Gail síla erin lû e-govaned 'wîn_ [3]," Legolas replied fluently.

The _elleth _had to stop and think through his reply a few times to fully process the meaning of it. Then, she was able to come up with a reasonable response, though she still tripped through her words. "_Ci vilui. Galo Anor erin radedh _[4]_."_

The two Elves spoke a long time in their own language, though Legolas was much better at it. At first, Cress was only experimenting with common phrases and greetings and grew more confident little by little. A few times, however, she mixed up her words and ended up telling the Prince that his hair was pretty, which wasn't a lie but saying it out loud was still immensely excruciating for the She-Elf.

Thank goodness Legolas only laughed when Cress accidentally praised his hair and, nevertheless, still thanked her for the admiring comment.

"I have forgotten how beautiful Elvish is," Cress sighed at last, switching back to the Common Tongue. "I must find a time to study it again. It is a shame that I am not so fluent in it."

At this point, the sun had set, and only the thinnest patch of red light could be seen peeking out from the other side of the Misty Mountains. The first stars were starting to show themselves, which signaled that it was time almost time to wake everyone up and start walking again. But it would still be a couple of hours before it is completely dark, and so there was one last watch for the day: Gimli.

Legolas jumped down from the rock followed by Cress who, after Legolas had gone back to his waking meditative state, strolled to where the Dwarf was sleeping. Cress' eyes lit up when she realized that this was her chance to become friendly with the son of Gloin who has been less than kind to her for the past few days. Perhaps she could show Gimli that she wasn't holding a grudge against Dwarves just because she's an Elf.

The _elleth_ put on her pleasantest facial expression and proceeded to gently shaking awake the Dwarf.

Gimli grunted incoherently and muttered something in his sleep that sounded like a very unfriendly curse. He wouldn't open his eyes after the first few shakes, so Cress gripped his shoulder harder and shook him more violently. "Mister Dwarf, wake up," she said softly.

Gimli rolled over, scooted away from the Elf, and continued to snore quietly.

Cress exhaled in defeat and sat back for a moment, wandering whether she would use harsher methods to wake the Dwarf or to keep trying to rouse him gently. She gazed calculatingly at Gimli before a mischievous little smirk crept onto her face. Leaning over Gimli's sleeping form, Cress blew a puff of air into his face which made the Dwarf's face cringe with annoyance and he tried to wiggle and worm his way away from the disturbance of his sleep.

Giggling silently, the Elf then had a sudden rush of impishness that inclined her to have some fun with the deeply asleep Gimli; draw on his face or play with his big, bushy beard. However, after some debate, she only smiled and concluded that to sabotage him in his sleep wasn't going to make Gimli friendly with her. Also, she decided that she'd better save her ink and quill for her diary. If she is to keep a record of the entire journey, she would need to conserve her writing and drawing material or they won't last very long.

"Master Dwarf," Cress tried again. She shook him harder, and this time Gimli had had enough.

The Dwarf finally woke and surveyed his surroundings with drowsy eyes. As soon as he saw Cress kneeling next to him, his eyes grew wide and alert. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded with authority. "Can't a Dwarf get some sleep without some nosy Elf watching him?"

"Uh…" Though Cress figured that Gimli didn't like Elves, she hadn't expected him to be so hostile right after waking up. It caught her off guard momentarily, and she instantly forgot the string of pleasant, welcoming words she was planning on saying to the Dwarf in order to get on his good side. "I didn't mean to offend, Master Dwarf. I was merely waking you; I was told that you have the next watch after Mister Boromir. But if you wish to sleep, I can keep watch for you."

Gimli moodily got to his feet and scowled up at Cress for she was still taller than him. "What makes you think I'd need you to keep watch for me? I can handle it myself, little Elfling. A Dwarf has the most endurance of all creatures! I've got – "

Cress frowned slightly at being called "little Elfling". "But I'm older than you, Master Dwarf," she pointed out, interrupting him, feeling a bit confused. "And I am _much_ taller than you – "

The mention of height differences effectively triggered Gimli's rage. His outburst was so sudden that Cress jumped with a start and nearly tripped over Pippin, who was curled up in sleep between her and the Dwarf. "I will have no talk of this!" Gimli shouted, not paying attention to how loud he was being. "I may be short, but there's much more to a man than his height, I tell you. This Dwarf can take down enemies a youngster like you could only encounter in your wildest dreams."

Cress always did her best to get along with everyone, but Gimli just wasn't picking up on her signals. She was trying to be nice to him, truly, but she didn't know if it was her fault or Gimli's that was making it hard for them to be friends. She knew that there was a feud between Dwarves and Elves long ago, but that was before Gimli was even _born_. Why can he not simply put the feud aside?

Cress tried to politely tell Gimli that he should keep his voice down, but the Dwarf didn't give her a chance to speak before going into a loud rant about how Dwarves should be treated with more respect and to make fun of one's height is the most immature thing a being can do.

"I wasn't making fun of your height!" Cress protested useless. She could feel that she was quickly losing control of the situation and that all hope of becoming friends with Gimli had just been torn to shreds and tossed into a fire. "I was simply telling the truth and pointing out that – "

"I don't need your excuses!" the Dwarf roared dramatically. "Now, if you know what's good for you, you'd better not mention this to the rest of the Company; especially that cursed Mirkwood Elf." He jerked his head at Legolas, who had gone back to sleeping with his eyes open. "As if having one Elf on the journey wasn't already bad enough, we have two. Why couldn't another Dwarf have come with us? There needs to be an equal –"

Cress noticed that a few of the members of the Fellowship were beginning to stir and made a hopeless attempt to calm Gimli down. "I understand your discomfort, Master Dwarf, with being the only member of your kind in the Company, but it isn't something to get mad about," she said hurriedly. "And I don't think I would count as a representative of the Elves. I'm not quite sure what I represent, really, but Master Gandalf and I are a package deal so you should try to lighten up a little and accept that – "

"'_Lighten up_'?!" Gimli repeated with such a dangerous tone that Cress took a step back to put some distance between herself and the angry Dwarf but ended up stumbling over Pippin and Merry and tumbling to the ground where the Hobbits were sleeping.

This triggered a small chain of events; first, the Hobbits, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin were started awake when Cress fell on them. The Hobbits panicked and went into hysterics since the sun had already set, and they could not see what had fallen on them in the gathering darkness. The Hobbits' screams immediately woke Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, and Legolas, who all sprang up from their beds in alarm. They instantly drew their weapons on instinct and rushed to where the Hobbits laid to save them from nonexistent danger. Gandalf lit the top of his staff with a bright orb of light so that everyone could see what was going on.

The entire Fellowship froze. All was silent as, in the light of the wizard's staff, the Hobbits realized that they were in no peril and that it was only Cress who had tripped over them. Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, and Legolas stood in a circle around them, staff ready, swords drawn, and arrow aimed. Gimli watched with wide eyes at the mess he and Cress had made.

Cress, after recovering from her fall, looked up to see Gandalf glaring down at her. She tried to smile innocently, still sprawled over the Hobbits.

Aragorn, Boromir, and Legolas slowly lowered their weapons as they decided that there was no real danger. Gandalf hauled Cress to her feet, "I will have no more of this foolishness, Cress," he told her sternly. "We are behind schedule, and everyone here needs the energy to start climbing the Mountains tomorrow. If I had not already agreed to take you along with me on this journey, I'd send you back to Rivendell this instant."

Cress bowed her head, "I am sorry, Master. It won't happen again."

Knowing his student, Gandalf was fully aware that it _would_ happen again. But he decided not to say any more and looked around at the faces of all in the Company. "Since we have all woken, there is no use in trying to sleep until complete darkness now. Let us have our meal and go on."

For the next few minutes, the Fellowship ate the food they had brought along with them. They ate sparingly for they did not know when they were going to be able to replenish their supplies; probably after they cross the Mountains, and none of them knew exactly how long that would take.

Cress took some dried meat and fruits from her supplies, eager to lighten its weight, and scrambled up a tree with her diary, quill, and a tiny phial of ink. In the tree, she ate in private and wrote descriptive entrees for the three members of the Fellowship she had spent time with that day. And at the end of each account, she carefully drew an ink portrait of each member she wrote about.

_Dearest Diary,_

_I must say that this journey is not as splendid as I had imagined. Perhaps it is the pain of having to carry my massive back pack everywhere I go. I had been looking forward to seeing the scenery and running through the plains of Rohan, but now I don't think that would be possible, at least not while I have to shoulder my oversized luggage._

_Lately, I have been trying to become friends with a few of the Company, and I think that I have made some progress. I had a reasonable conversation with Boromir, the Man from Gondor, though it was mostly him doing the talking. I think he is very loyal and patriotic. From what I can tell, he isn't exactly the talkative type, but he has a great deal to say about Gondor. I merely asked him about his country, and I think he gave me an entire history lesson about Gondor. Nevertheless, I shall conclude that he is a decent person and can be trusted, and he reminded me of my own homeland. Boromir mentioned passing through Lothlórien on the way South, but I do not know if that is the route Master Gandalf plans to take. For if we do happen to enter Lórien, I will be sure to visit my dear mother and Haldir again._

_Another member I spoke with was Legolas. Perhaps the first thing I should note about him is that he is quite attractive. His hair is of a lighter color than mine, and I, having not spoken in Elvish in so long, had unintentionally complimented it. Though it was not exactly untrue. He is of the same race as me, but I noticed a slight difference in appearance between Mirkwood Elves and Lórien Elves. My kindred from Mirkwood, I think, must be fair in a more detached and natural way while in Lórien, Elves are fair like royalty and often look heavenly in a way. Whatever the case, Legolas is not only handsome but is also a kind person. I can tell he appreciates nature and the world in general, something that I have forgotten to do a long time ago. He also appears to be skilled with the bow and arrows, which I had not quite managed yet, and carries a white long knife. I asked him to play the guessing game that I had played long ago in Lórien, and he gladly agreed to entertain me. It has been a long while since anyone besides Master Gandalf had agreed to play that game with me. Also, I have decided that I should make an effort to speak Elvish again, for Legolas reminded me of what a lovely language it is. So far, I think he is my favorite companion, save Master Gandalf, of course; no one can ever take Master Gandalf's place._

_Lastly, there is Gimli. I can't say I enjoy his company, but I can understand why he doesn't like mine. He is a Dwarf, you see, and Dwarves aren't supposed to get along with Elves. I still think he can be a little less obvious about his dislike toward Legolas and me, and he is rather sensitive about his size. I didn't mean to offend him by pointing out that I was at least a foot taller than him, but he still got angry with me. Gimli is probably the member of the Fellowship I have made the least progress with, and I haven't even spoken a word to Merry and Pippin yet. I hope they are at least as pleasant as Boromir._

_-Cress_

Cress finished the last of her dried fruits and closed her diary. She quietly slipped down from the tree and stowed the journal, quill, and ink into her pack, making sure that no one saw her with it. Looking over her entries, she noticed that her description of Legolas was unnecessarily long and detailed. The She-Elf blushed slightly at this before hurriedly putting it away. She did not want anyone to see what she had written, especially not any one she had written about.

Moments later, it was dark enough for the Fellowship to set out again. Everyone shouldered their packs, and Cress dreaded having to carry hers. Then, watching Gimli begin to march toward the Misty Mountains following the rest of the Company, Cress thought about the Dwarf's pride in being a Dwarf and his great emphasis on being able to handle anything.

A small smile twitched onto her lips and she hurried after him. "Master Dwarf," she called in the sweetest of voices.

Gimli turned around to face her, evidently suspicious of the sugary tone of her calls. Cress caught up to him and said, "I have been thinking about what you said of Dwarves being strong and enduring and how one should not judge you on your size. And I have decided that I agree with you completely!"

Gimli blinked, appearing to have been caught off guard for he wasn't expecting her to mention that. But he quickly got recovered and puffed up his chest in a proud manner. "What did I tell you? We Dwarves are natural warriors, able to carry many burdens without tiring and – "

Cress did not allow him to finish for he had already said exactly what she wanted him to say. "Oh, then this is perfect!"

The Dwarf raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. "What did you say?"

Before Gimli could get an answer out of her, Cress had already slipped off her backpack and threw it on top of his which drew a grunt from the son of Gloin. He staggered at the sudden additional weight and spat furiously, "What do you think you're doing?! Get your pack back on!"

"Well… since I'm a 'youngster'," Cress replied innocently, emphasizing the word "youngster". "A natural warrior like you wouldn't mind carrying my burden, would you? Please?" She beamed at him like a little girl and took advantage of her large, doe eyes.

"Get this thing off me!" Gimli wasn't swayed at all by the Elf's pleading look. He immediately tried to dump the extra luggage onto the ground, but Cress reacted quickly and made sure that it stayed on.

"Come now, Master Dwarf," she reasoned. "It's a pity, really; I had been looking forward to seeing a real display of endurance and strength from the son of Gloin. I was certain you would be able to bear it, but I can see now that I am wrong…"

At this, Gimli abruptly stopped struggling and looked up at her with slight alarm. He seemed to be trying to calculate Cress' intentions before finally responding, "Hogwash! Of course I can bear it!"

The Elf's face lit up again, "So you'll carry it for me?" she asked hopefully, clasping her hands together eagerly.

Gimli was visibly arguing with himself, his dark eyes shifting up and down as he went through the pros and cons of Cress' request. Finally, he gave snort. "All right, I'll carry it for you. But not as a favor!" he added quickly. "I merely need to be more challenged on this quest. Everyone here are pansies, I tell you!"

He said that last part slightly too loud, and all the other members of the Company turned back to look at him for calling them all "pansies". Some of their eyebrows were raised coolly and others in amusement.

Cress tried to hide her smile. She patted Gimli on the back fondly, "So you will carry it for me; oh, you are too kind, Gimli. Thank you ~" And with that, she shouldered her small and much lighter drawstring bag that contained her personal possessions and skipped merrily off to the front of the party, leaving poor Gimli behind.

* * *

_A/N: Hi! I'm sorry this took so long, but it's the longest chapter so far. I hope it was alright; it was a bit of a pain to right. Anyways, thanks to those who reviewed, favorite, and are following the story. As you can probably tell, Cress has already developed a little, school-girl crush on Legolas, but I must admit that I am not the best at romance, so if anyone has some pointers or encouragement on that, please let me know! I'm so nervous as to how I'm going to work out the LegolasxOC part XD._

_The reviews are so supportive, and I love you all so much! Now, if you wouldn't mind, please drop a REVIEW for me again and tell me what you thought of this chapter. Reviews to writer as fuel is to fire._

_Next time: Okay, so this chapter turned out much longer than I had anticipated, so we're be starting the adventures in Caradhras and the Misty Mountains in the next chapter! Yay! Stay tuned ;D _

_Translations:_

_[1]__ "No."_

_[2]__ "I am happy to meet you, Legolas. My name is Cress."_

_[3]__ "A star shines upon the hour of our meeting."_

_[4]"Thank you. May the sun shine upon your path."_


	7. Chapter VII

*Chapter VII:

_Dearest Diary,_

_ 'Tis now the thirteenth day since the Fellowship of the Ring left Rivendell. We have spent the past eleven nights hiking through the west side of the Misty Mountains and heading south toward Eregion. Now that I no longer have to carry my pack, I think that I am no longer keeping the rest of the Company behind schedule. We have made quite some progress through the Mountains these past few days and have reached Caradhras, which Master Gandalf told me was a Mountain of Moria for the vast Mines of Moria were partly beneath it. The Mines belong to the Dwarves, and Gimli has insisted more than once that it would be much quicker and less of a tussle to go through Moria than to scale the massive slopes of the Mountains. But Master Gandalf refused to go through the Mines unless he has no other choice. I know not of why this is, but I am certain he has his perfectly logical reasons._

_ Speaking of Gimli, I must admit that I am impressed with his stamina. He has managed to keep up with the rest of us just fine ever since he offered to carry my load. However, starting three days ago, it began to snow. Though it is quite natural for there to be snow so high up on the Mountains and in the middle of January, this snow is still exceptionally cold. At last, the Hobbits are starting to fall behind me, for the snow had piled up to almost bury them completely! _

_ Just the other day, the Fellowship made an agreement to each carry a piece of wood but not to light a fire unless it is a choice between fire and death. How I truly wish to light mine now! But I do not wish to be the first to break, for I think that I must at least last longer than the Hobbits if I am to be taken seriously on this mission. It's been so terribly cold and windy outside that even Master Gandalf agreed to take a few more rests than we were supposed to._

_ I think these more frequent respites have actually been most useful for me. I spoke with Merry and Pippin not long ago while we were taking shelter in a small hollow on the side of the mountain, and I am happy to conclude that I like them very much. They are such light-hearted folk, and I find great comfort in having a simple little conversation with them. Though I do worry about them and what they will face on this journey. Master Gandalf has made it clear to me that the Journey of the One Ring is not to be taken lightly, but I deeply hope that Merry and Pippin will remain the way they are throughout it all. I would hate to see them in any other mood than their usual, happy selves._

_ I wonder how much longer our Company will have to stay in the Mountains. If this snowstorm keeps up, we'll all soon freeze to death. As Master Gandalf had said, it is far too risky to light a fire, for it would give out our location to anyone else who may be in the Mountains. What I would like to know is _who_ would be all the way out here anyway? This place is practically a wasteland of frozen rain, black mountain sides, and no sign of life could be detected. Sometimes, the Hobbits cannot walk because the snow is too high for them. Whenever this happens, Aragorn and Boromir must carry the Hobbits on their backs._

_ Perhaps I shouldn't be so relaxed. About five days ago, before we encountered the snow, a large flock of black birds were flying around our camp, and we hid from them. Master Gandalf thinks that they were spies of the Enemy, and if that is true, then I must be more alert. Thank Elbereth, we had the common sense to take cover when those birds were near, but I haven't seen any trace of them for days. Surely, we had left them behind when we started climbing Caradhras? _

_ Whatever the case, I only hope to get through the Misty Mountains soon. I wonder where we will go next after that. Will we follow the Great River or keep to the east side of the Mountains? How much longer will it be before we get to sleep in a real bed? Will the snow be stopping anytime soon? And if not, how will the Fellowship possibly make it to the other side of the Mountains? I fear the answer to these questions, which is something I'm not usually afraid of. I usually find excitement and happiness in knowing answers; this cold must be starting to numb my mind._

_-Cress_

With shaky hands, Cress closed her diary and stowed it back into her drawstring bag. She took a closer look at her fingers and saw that the tips of them were beginning to turn blue. It was very cold, and she pulled her thin layers of blankets closer to her body, trying to preserve as much of her body heat as possible.

It was dark in the little cave the Fellowship had found to sleep and rest in. The snow was still falling outside, and Cress sat on the hard floor of the hollow, breathing into her hands and rubbing them together once in a while.

Because Cress was an Elf, she had been given a relatively small amount of blankets, for she would naturally last longing in the cold weather than many of the other members of the Company. Though this was true, the _elleth _still suffered as she struggled to keep warm.

Legolas, who was also immortal, was pushed to the back of the blanket queue with Cress, and he had even less cover than the She-Elf since he was older.

Cress sighed sadly. She had hoped that writing a very long entry in her diary would bring some heat to her hands, but it didn't seem to help much. She turned to look at her companions that were scattered around on the floor of the cave, sleeping or pretending to be. They were still not allowed to light a fire, and the harsh wind whipping the snowflakes violently through the Mountains.

A part of the wind blew into the cave, and Cress shivered violently, clutching the edges of her blanket to her chest. Her cheeks were so numb that she attempted to bury her face in the blanket, but the small mantle wasn't big enough to cover both her head and her feet, which were also were starting to freeze.

After a few minutes of groping around with the blanket and attempting to deal with its ridiculous size, Cress gave a defeated huff and stopped with her useless fidgeting. She glanced around at her companions again, and her eyes landed on Legolas, who was resting near the opening of the cave so that he could warn the rest of the Fellowship if danger should suddenly approach.

Cress thought for a few seconds before pulling her blankets around her tightly and beginning to crawl stiffly over to where the other Elf was sitting. She saw that his eyes were open, staring out into the Mountains, but she assumed that he was simply in his waking meditative state again, so she didn't think twice before silently planting herself beside him. At first, she blinked a few times, unsure of why she decided to move from her original spot in the first place, but then she realized that she had been feeling rather lonely at the back of the cave by herself.

Cress bounced up and down on her knees, thinking. Then, she gazed at Legolas and timidly scooted closer to him for warmth.

At that moment, Legolas snapped him head back to look at her, and Cress started at the sudden movement for she had thought that the other Elf was asleep. "You're awake," she stuttered awkwardly. "I was just… um…"

"Couldn't sleep?" he supplied, cracking a small smile at the e_lleth's _overreaction to his waking.

"Erm… well, I was cold, so I…" She trailed off, getting red in the face. "Nevermind. I'll just go back to sleep now. I'm so sorry." She made a move to get up and go back to her original spot so she that she could hide her burning cheeks, which was odd since only seconds ago they had been numb from the cold.

"There is nothing to forgive," Legolas answered, causing Cress to stop in her tracks. "I couldn't sleep either. The weather here is strange. It's almost as if the Mountains themselves are working against us, doing all they can to slow our progress."

Another blast of icy wind brought several large snowflakes into the cave, and Cress watched them land of the ground and slowly melt. Then she, in vain, wrapped herself even more tightly in her blankets and shivered uncontrollably. "Why do you stay near the mouth of the cave where it is the most exposed to the weather?" she asked the Mirkwood Prince, glancing at the small amount of protection from the wind he had. "Aren't you cold as well?"

"Only a little bit," Legolas admitted. "But I will be fine."

Cress dropped her gaze and sighed. Then, she sank back down beside the other Elf and said, "Seeing as we are both in need of some company and more blankets, let us be cold together. Everything is a little better when there is a friend to suffer through it with you," she preached.

Legolas smiled at her simple-mindedness. "Yes, that is true. But sometimes, one would wish for their friend be safe instead of sharing the pain with them. Would you not rather go further into the cave where it is warmer than stay out here with me?"

Cress thought for a moment about this and realized that Legolas had a point. "Perhaps I do wish to be where it is warmer, but I think that I would be lonely by myself. I like to have someone to talk to; it makes me feel somewhat comforted, even if the conversation has to do with something completely humble. And at this time, I think I could use some of that comfort; the situation of our Company is a grave one, and I do not think I can stand seeing nothing but snow any longer."

"From my reckoning, we are at Caradhras' knee and not anywhere near the top yet. Aye, I fear that the snowstorm will only grow worse the higher we climb. And the further we go, the harder it will be to backtrack if it is decided that we are to take another route across the Mountains in the end. Aragorn and Mithrandir have much to think about. Let us pray that their choices do not go astray"

"Master Gandalf knows what he is doing," Cress immediately retorted with sudden hostility. She was always ready to defend her Master if she senses the even smallest hint of doubt or question toward the old wizard. Sometimes, she thinks that she is being too sensitive and mistrustful toward anyone who didn't agree with Gandalf, but she couldn't help it. It had grown to be almost an instinct to get defensive and paranoid when someone shows the slightest sign of doubting her master.

There was a tense silence as Cress slowly vented out some of her abrupt irritation with Legolas. She wasn't sure why she had so sharply snapped at the Prince. At once she felt horrible for it, and wondered where the anger had come from.

"I am sorry," the _elleth_ sighed at last. "I think it has grown to be a habit of mine to lash out at people who do not love my master as much as I do. I apologize for my ignorance; it is a flaw of mine to not accept other opinions willingly. Master Gandalf is the only person I will yield to."

"It is clear that you and Mithrandir have known each other for a long time?" asked Legolas, wisely choosing to steer the discussion away from the current situation and to the relationship between Cress and Gandalf, which appeared to be something that the She-Elf liked to talk about.

She answered enthusiastically, "Well, it really hasn't been _that_ long; at least not to an Elf." Cress did some math in her head and continued, "I think it has been some eighty years since I met Master Gandalf. But in that time, I have learned more from him than I could have learned from anyone else in a hundred years. Master Gandalf is a wonderful teacher, really, and he has taught me so much about the world and the art of sorcery. Without him, I think I would still be in Lothlórien living with my mother and having a rather uninteresting life.

"I believe, since Elves are immortal, that life would be far too dull if there wasn't at least one adventure in it. It would be terrible to stay in your homeland for all eternity and not have anything exciting happen. This applies even more so to the mortal life-span. Men have such a short amount of time to do something to make their life satisfied while Elves can take their time with practically everything.

"Can you imagine being mortal, Legolas? Knowing that every minute you live is another step closer to death? That must be so very frightening, the thought of only being a dead body and not being able to see or hear or speak. And no one knows what death feels like or what happens after it. Things that are unpredictable are the scariest things, I suppose. Once in a while I would pity Men, but Master Gandalf always says that sometimes immortality is more painful than death. I don't quite comprehend how that works, but if Master Gandalf says so, then I am sure it is true. I am simply not old enough to understand it.

"Actually, I think I should be asking Aragorn or Boromir these questions instead of you, Legolas. They are mortal and should be able to give me more detailed and accurate answers. But thank you for listening anyway."

Cress stopped to take a breath after that long stream of words. She was pleasantly surprised that Legolas was still listening and did not interrupt her once during her expressing. It was hard for Cress to find someone who would pay attention to her every word, no matter how irrelevant or ridiculous the topic of conversation was. "I am impressed," she said to the Prince with a delighted smile.

Confused, Legolas did not realize how much it meant to Cress for him to simply sit and truly heed every word she spoke. He questioned her, "With what?"

"People don't normally have the patience to wait for me to finish my thoughts, as my thoughts are usually rather long and detailed, and I take a long time to express them. Master Gandalf is one of the few that has the attention span and my mother as well. Yesterday, I was telling Merry and Pippin about the history of the Elves, and they fell asleep. It's been so long since anyone else has been able to sit through one of my rants; I'm so happy!" Cress clasped her hands together and beamed like a child that had been given candy.

Legolas watched her with interest as she bounced on her heels childishly, looking at him with a new light in her eyes. Here was a girl whose thoughts go deeper than that of most, despite her innocent and care-free nature; so easily amused, but still aware of the meaning of the things that really matter. "I agree that the minds of mortals have a rather short attention span, but I do not find your musing dull," the Prince replied with newfound respect. "I will listen to you if you wish, whenever you may need someone to communicate your opinions and ideas to."

If it were possible, Cress' eyes grew even brighter at this. "_Gwestodh_[1]?" she asked, looking at him hopefully.

"_Gweston[2]._" Legolas nodded sincerely.

At that moment, Cress knew that the Mirkwood Prince had a good heart and was not someone who cheated or despaired easily. "_De vilui[3],_" the She-Elf answered. "You are very kind, Legolas. I hope we can be good friends." Cress then leaned back against the cave wall and rested her hands behind her head. Suddenly, she didn't feel so cold anymore.

"I share that same hope, for you are not like other Elves I know. There is something about you that I find different," Legolas said thoughtfully, as if he were trying to put his finger on it.

Cress raised an eyebrow at him questioningly, "I hope that is not a bad thing," the _elleth _replied, half worried and half wondering if it was a joke.

Legolas chuckled at her alertness to his comments. "Being strange is not exactly bad, at least not in my eyes," he said.

"Oh, okay then, good."

And they both fell silent after that. They listened to the whistling wind outside for a few minutes before Cress perked up, "Do you mind if I sing a song, Legolas. I can't say I am good at it, but it makes me happy. Most people don't like hearing me, so I hope you'll be alright with listening for a while?"

Legolas, who had never met an Elf that did not sing well, did not think twice before saying, "Go ahead."

However, as soon as Cress opened her mouth, the Mirkwood Prince wished he hadn't given her leave. Poor Legolas, being far too polite to tell the _elleth _to stop, had to endure two minutes of Cress' horrid singing before Pippin, Merry, and Gimli were roused from their sleep by the noise.

"What is that awful sound?" Pippin muttered as he rubbed his eyes and sat up.

"It sounds like a bird's being tortured," Gimli added, still half asleep and not realizing that Cress abruptly stopped and was now glaring daggers at him.

"You could have been a little less blunt with your criticism," Cress muttered, but ceased her squawking. She did not notice the look of relief on Legolas' face when someone had gotten her to stop. After glancing out of the mouth of the cave, the She-Elf quickly changed the subject, "It's almost time to get up anyway. Let us wake the others so that we may continue our journey."

* * *

When the rest of the Fellowship had been roused from their sleep, they ate a small meal and set out again. Miraculously, the snow had stopped falling, which was a great respite, but the thick blanket of white that covered the path they were using was still a problem, at least for the non-Elvish folk.

Cress and Legolas did not leave any prints in the snow, for they were of the Elven race, and therefore they found it much easier to walk the snow covered path.

Without the annoying weight of her pack to slow her down, Cress had been elevated from being the last in line to the first. She energetically pranced around at the front of the party, eagerly taking in her surroundings but still being careful not to go too far ahead on her own.

For the first time in days, the sun shined through the clouds in the sky, making the snow clad mountains hard to look at. Cress raced to the edge of a wide shelf that the Company was on and gazed out at the blinding white slopes of the Mountains. "It's soooooo pretty!" she cooed, standing on her toes and shielding her face from the rays of the sun with her hand. "You all must come and look at this!"

Legolas came, but the others were too busy trying to prow through the snow to pay any attention to the scenery.

Cress turned back to glance at them, frowning slightly at their lack of enthusiasm. She noticed that they were still so serious and grim when they should have had their spirits lifted when the snow had finally stopped falling. Also, the sun was shining, and who could possibly be so down-hearted at that?

After a moment of devious pondering, Cress cracked a small smile, bent down to the ground, took a handful of snow, and formed a snowball with it behind her back. Then, she innocently joined the Company again, but this time staying near the end of the line. As the Fellowship kept climbing Caradhras, the She-Elf secretly made two more snowballs after the first and held them behind her back so that none could see her plans to bring some amusement to the others.

Then, without warning, she hurled the snowballs at the three people who were closest to her; Legolas, Gimli, and Merry. She had been aiming for the back of their heads, but at the second Cress threw the snowballs, Gimli turned around, and a ball of frozen water hit him in the face instead.

The She-Elf gave a start and covered her mouth with her hands as she watched Gimli noisily and bewilderedly shake what remained of the snowball off of his face. At first, he wasn't sure what hit him, but he quickly figured it out when he saw the look on Cress' face.

Cress, who was trying very hard to keep a straight face, gazed over at Legolas and Merry who had also turned around after getting nailed by the _elleth_'s expert throws. She couldn't stop herself from laughing when she their reactions.

Gimli seemed as if he was going to blow a gasket, but the specks of snow still stuck in his beard did not help him to look intimidating. Legolas and Merry also still had some chunks of white in their hair, but they didn't look nearly as angry as the Dwarf, just caught off guard. In fact, Merry was the first to start laughing with Cress, and he quickly grabbed a handful of snow from the ground and tossed it at the She-Elf.

Cress wasn't expecting this, and she shrieked as she was hit in the face too. After getting over her shock and wiping the leftover snow off her forehead, the Elf and the Hobbit mentally declared snowball war on each other.

And afterwards, things got chaotic.

As Cress hurled another snowball at Merry, the Hobbit jumped behind Gimli for cover, and once again the Dwarf got sacked in the face. Then, the son of Gloin could no longer stand and watch; he too joined the battle of the snowballs, possibly to get revenge. But soon, he was laughing along with his opponents for he also found amusement in the game.

Cress sent a snowball flying at Legolas, but the other Elf ducked just in time and the hit meant for him was taken by Boromir. The Man was unsure at first as to what was happening between the two Elves, a Dwarf, and a Hobbit, but he caught on quickly and gladly joined their fun.

He could throw quite hard and when one of his shots hit Merry, it knocked the little man off his feet, sending his scrambling to get up in the three feet deep snow. Just as Boromir was about to go for Gimli, Cress' expertly aimed shot caught him in the face instead.

"Must you always aim for people's faces?" he asked jokingly, redirecting his next snowball at her.

"Yes!" Cress replied cheekily. She made two snowballs to counter the one that Boromir was about to throw at her. But before their one-on-one showdown could start, Legolas interrupted it by chucking his own snowball at Boromir. The Human staggered a little, which made Cress' shots miss completely and land on the rest of the Hobbits' heads.

And at once, the Hobbits were flinging snow at each other as well. Now, the tiny snowball war of four had multiplied to an eight-on-eight battle. Most soon figured out that Cress' aim was one of the best, possibly from having already mastered knife-throwing. Aragorn and Gandalf watched from a distance at the playful skirmish with amused smiles. At one point, a stray snowball flew in the wizard's direction, shattering on the wide rim of his pointed hat.

At once, Cress had demanded to know what dared to aim for her Master Gandalf. After that, the snowball fight got much more intense, although the laughing never ceased.

"You all throw like little girls!" Cress taunted her opponents, having resorted to stuffing handfuls of snow down the back of their shirts. "Snowball fight like real men!"

Jeering was obviously a mistake, Cress quickly realized as the others gazed at each other meaningfully as if exchanging an agreement. It didn't take long for the She-Elf to comprehend that her opponents were forming an alliance against her. "N-no…" she tried to keep cool as they closed in around her with their snowballs ready. Laughing nervously, she slowly backed away from them, "It was only a joke, and this isn't fair!"

They paid no attention to her protests, and simultaneously flung their ammunition at her.

Cress exaggeratedly braced herself as she was pelted with snow. The impacts knocked her to the ground and she tried to get up, but slipping on the slippery ice and fell back down.

Gimli was laughing gleefully, "Ha! Revenge; it's taste is sweet!"

Under normal circumstances, Cress would have been quite angry with her friends for teaming up against her like that, but seeing the smiles all around on their faces, she quickly lost her anger and could only laugh it off and accept defeat. "I surrender!" she declared dramatically, holding her hands up. Then she flashed a sly grin. "Now for round two!"

Before anyone could react, the Elf whipped out her flute from her belt and waved it at the snow at her feet. At once, a dozen snowballs formed themselves and hovered in the air for a few seconds, and when Cress flicked her wrist, the white spheres shot at her "enemies".

Everyone was hit with at least one of Cress' magically enchanted snowballs, and the She-Elf jumped up and down in triumph. "Victory!" she cried with delight, and proceeded to spinning around in a cheesy happy-dance. Then, she fell off the edge of the cliff.

There was a dead silence as all laughing stopped and the rest of the Fellowship could only stare in utter disbelief at the spot where Cress had been standing, mouths hanging open in an "o". They had not realized how close to the ledge the She-Elf had been, and while she was doing her happy-dance, she must have slipped and fallen.

Everyone hastily scrambled up from the ground and rushed to where Cress was last seen. They looked over the edge of the cliff, and the ground below was so far down that they could not see it.

"Don't tell us we just lost our first companion?" Pippin squeaked, breathing slowly to try and calm himself.

Boromir nodded gravely, "I'm afraid no one can survive that fall, not even an Elf.

"What's even worse," Merry added shakily; "is that our first companion was lost while doing a victory-dance because she beat us all in a snowball fight."

Everyone seemed to realize how pathetic that sounded. A wave of dread washed over them as they thought about the almost comical way their companion had perished. "What are we to tell Gandalf?" Frodo asked, sinking to the ground in despair.

Gandalf and Aragorn walked up behind them at the moment, wondering why the snowball fight had ended so abruptly. "What happened here?" Aragorn demanded upon seeing the grim expressions on his friends' faces.

Merry sniffled slightly, "Cress… she…" he motioned to the cliff.

The Ranger and the wizard both looked over the edge and understood what the Hobbit was trying to say.

"_Hiro hyn hîdh ab 'wanath [4]_." Legolas breathed, bowing his head.

"_De vilui, Legolas,_" answered a familiar voice. "However, I am not dead, but I appreciate the thought, really."

Everyone whipped around at those words, and Cress stood there behind them, looking a little drowsy but still very much alive. She yawned at them and blinked sleepily. "What are you all staring at?"

The rest of the Fellowship looked at her in amazement – well, except Gandalf who knew exactly how Cress survived the fall.

"Y-you fell!" Pippin stuttered. "Are you a ghost?"

"No…" Cress spoke as if she was really tired. "I am not a ghost; I am very much alive, actually. I'm just a bit tired after using that levitation enchantment…" She held up her flute as if that would explain everything and looked around at the confused faces of her friends, quite oblivious to their shock. "If none of you mind, I'll be taking a nap, now…"

Then, she slowly sank to the ground, closed her eyes, and curled up for sleep.

All was quiet for a while, and Merry actually tried to touch Cress' sleeping form to make sure that she was solid. But Gandalf had stopped him, saying, "Let her rest now, Master Meriadoc. She has been worn out after saving herself from the fall."

Noting the blank looks of the rest of the Fellowship, the wizard elaborated, "Cress used a levitation spell to stop her fall, and that is why she is still alive and with us. However, sorcery drains energy from the body, and so she must recharge. The quickest and most effective way to do that is to sleep. We can go no further today, at least not until Cress wakes up."

"I wouldn't want to go any further today," Sam said. He pointed up at the sky, "Look."

The sky had gone dark, and the sun was blotted out by thick clouds again. It seemed that a blizzard was coming after the brief respite, and it was going to be hard to travel when the snow is falling so thickly that you can't even see your hands in front of you.

"We must find shelter again," Gandalf advised. "Quickly!"

And with that, the Fellowship set out again. However, someone had to carry Cress for she refused to wake up. Aragorn and Gimli already had Merry and Pippin to bear, Frodo and Sam were too small, and Gandalf was practically an old man, so that only left Gimli or Legolas to carry the _elleth._ Gimli, however, made it clear that he was not going to bear Cress' burden and Cress herself. And this time, Cress was not awake to use reverse-psychology on him again.

And so it was decided that Legolas shall be the one to carry her. He had the least trouble in the snow and hardly had anything to do except keep watch as the rearguard.

As the snow started to fall again, the Fellowship of the Ring continued their climb up Caradhras with the wind whipping at their hair and massive snowflakes swirling in their faces.

* * *

_A/N: Wow… this chapter took quite some time to write! Here we saw Cress use magic for the first time… to win a snowball fight! Gosh, I feel so nervous about those Legolas/Cress scenes, but I do hope they were alright. As I have mentioned before, I am not the best at romance scenes. Also, I'm sorry if some parts were confusing with how Cress got back after falling off the cliff ^_^_

_Anyways, someone suggested a snowball fight, so I hope the one I put in here was good enough! Oh, yes, and thanks for all the favorites and reviews. You guys are awesome, and I'll continue to put my all into these chapters for you. If you have a comment, as always, leave a review for me, won't you? Remember, reviews are the best way to get a writer to write faster and get more inspiration, which leads to more ideas, which leads to a better story. Thanks!_

_Next time: The Fellowship of the Ring must come to a decision about going through the Mines of Moria. Also, what will happen when Cress joins Pippin in throwing rocks into that lake in front of the mine doors…? Stay tuned!_

_[1] – "Do you promise?"_

_[2] – "I promise."_

_[3] – "Thank you."_

_[4] – "May she rest in peace."_


	8. Chapter VIII

*Chapter VIII:

Cress woke up to the sound of arguing. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and drowsily sat up, wondering where she was. Then, she remembered the snowball fight and falling off the cliff and using the levitation charm. She wasn't sure how long she had slept, but she hoped she hadn't cost the rest of the Fellowship to get too behind schedule.

Turning her head this way and that, she found that she was in another cave. It seemed that these hollows were very conveniently placed along the mountain trail. As Cress was taking in her surroundings, she also realized that there was the warm orange glow of a fire several feet away from her, and the Hobbits were lying beside her, also sleeping. The remaining members of the Company were all gathered around the small flame, warming themselves and having a heated debate.

"This is our last chance of turning back, Gandalf," Gimli's voice could be heard. "The weather up here is like nothing I had ever seen. This blizzard is abnormal; even in January this weather is not natural. The Mountains themselves are trying to push us back, and we cannot defeat them. We must retrace our steps before it is too late."

"I know what it is you are suggesting, Gimli," Gandalf replied calmly. "And once again, I say no. I will not go through the Mines of Moria unless I have no other choice."

"There _is_ no other choice," Gimli retorted, beginning to sound angry. "Take a look at what's happening outside. And think of the Hobbits; they will not last for long, even with Aragorn and Boromir carrying them. We cannot risk the death of the Ring-bearer."

"There are evils in Moria that not even I can imagine," Gandalf sighed. "You say that Balin took a troop of Dwarves there some time ago, but you have not heard from them in years. I fear that they will not be ready for visitors to come knocking on their door."

Gimli hesitated at this for a split-second before saying, "But the Mines will be much faster to travel through, as well; only a two day journey if one knows the way. Who knows how long it would take for us to get out of the Misty Mountains in this type of weather."

The voices went quiet after that as the members of the debate thought about their situation and how to respond. At this time, Cress silently got to her feet, dusted herself off, and walked over to the fire to join them. She squeezed into the circle, between Gandalf and Aragorn.

"Ah, I see you have finally woken, Cress," the wizard said, though his face was grim.

"How long have I been asleep?" the She-Elf asked.

Gandalf shook his head, "It is hard to tell. A great snowstorm has been unleashed, and it is no longer easy to distinguish night from day. As you can see, we have finally lit a fire, for it is truly a decision between fire and death now."

Cress stared at the small flickering flame in front of her. It was little and barely gave off any heat, but it was better than nothing. They didn't have much fuel for it since each companion only brought a single chunk of wood with them. Seeing the pitiful state of the fire living only off of only a few seven-inch long strips of fuel, the _elleth_ dug into her bag and pulled out the strip of wood she had been carrying and tossed it into the fire. This made it crackle a little bit more merrily, but the flame was still miserably weak.

"We must make a decision," Aragorn announced at last. "To continue our struggle through the Mountains or to turn back and try the Mines of Moria. If we do not choose quickly, we will soon freeze to death; this fire will not last very long."

"If we are taking a vote," said Boromir; "I would take the path through Moria."

"I vote to go through Moria, as well," agreed Aragorn. "But I do not wish to see the Company divided. We must stay together, or we will have no hope of completing the journey."

No words were needed to be said from Gimli, for everyone knew that he preferred the path through the Mines.

"I say no," Gandalf answered firmly.

"I do not wish to go through the Mines of Moria, either," Legolas said.

Upon hearing Gandalf's vote, Cress immediately made perked up, "I shall follow Master Gandalf, no matter how dangerous his choice may be."

The members around the fire looked at each other and quickly realized that there was a problem. There were an even number of people voting, and it just so happened that the votes were tied.

"Objection!" Gimli cried, when he noticed this. He pointed at Cress, "Her vote shouldn't count."

"What are you trying to say?" Cress growled aggressively, stepping toward the Dwarf with hostility. Her anger had flared so suddenly at Gimli's misleading words, and she couldn't hold it down anymore. She had done nothing but tried to be nice to the Dwarf, but he was stubbornly refusing to pick up on her signals.

"Tell me exactly why my vote doesn't count, Gimli son of Gloin," she demanded loud enough to cause the Hobbits to stir, but she didn't care. "It's because I'm the only female, isn't it? Well, I'll have you know – "

Gandalf smacked his staff down on her shoulder to stop her from advancing on the Dwarf any further. "Peace, Cress. Let us hear the reason for Gimli's objection."

As Cress crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at him, the Dwarf said coolly, "Her vote will always be in Gandalf's favor, and she barely knows what we're talking about. This makes Cress' vote unjustified, and I say it doesn't count. Let us take a vote on it!"

"Are you serious?!" the She-Elf shouted, her face turning red with frustration. "We are _not_ voting on whether my vote is valid or not. This is ridiculous!"

"What's going on…?" Frodo had been roused by the loud arguing. He sleepily raised his head, blank eyes trying to focus on them. His curly hair was a mess, and his body was tangled in his blankets.

Gandalf looked at him meaningfully for a few seconds but did not answer his question. The wizard appeared almost feel sorry for the little Hobbit. "Let the Ring-bearer decide," he said at last.

At first, nobody was sure whether he meant that Frodo was to judge Cress' vote or he was going to choose between Moria and the Mountains. But nobody objected to Frodo making the choice. It was rightfully his to make, after all. He was supposed to be the leader of the Company, and everyone else are simply his companions.

Confused, Frodo sat up and shook his kinsmen awake. "What? What are we deciding on? Gandalf?"

"We have a problem, Frodo, my lad," the wizard answered gently. "There are two roads that we can take now. We can either go through the Mines of Moria, or we can resume our climb on Caradhras. Both choices have their fair share of obstacles, but they each also have some good points. You are the Ring-bearer, and it is your right to decide our course. Choose wisely."

All the Fellowship was now awake and staring at Mr. Baggins. It was a lot of pressure to put on someone so very small, Cress realized. And he also literally carried the weight of the Ring around his neck. Isn't that already enough? Now, everyone was so expectant of him, and the She-Elf could not help but feel a stab of pity for the poor Halfling.

"We'll take the path through Moria," Frodo said, after glancing uncertainly at the people around him. He refused to let his voice turn shaky and stood up a little straighter to appear to know what he was doing.

Gandalf looked unhappy at this decision, but he did not argue and simply nodded grimly. "So be it. Let us begin retracing our steps as swiftly as possible." Then, he turned and started gathering up his things, and before long the others followed his example.

* * *

As they climbed down Caradhras, the snowstorm whipped and pushed behind them as if urging them to leave the Mountains. But the lower they, the more the blizzard ceased until finally they were on leveled ground again, and the storm had stopped completely.

Then, they slept again with much more comfort and warmth than they had experienced while scaling Caradhras. Then, there walked some more, with Gimli leading the way to the entrance to the Mines of Moria.

Cress did not like the lands they crossed. It was practically a waste land with not grass, dead trees and shrubs, and no sign of clean water. Still, it was much better than hiking through the snow in the Mountains. Also, Cress would occasionally hear Gandalf muttering to himself as they travelled; it appeared that he and Aragorn would have to make new plans concerning the course that the Fellowship is going to take.

They had been hoping to follow the Misty Mountains further to the south and cross through the Gap of Rohan. But now, the strategy was thwarted because by going through Moria, the Company will come to the other side of the Mountains with Lothlórien, Fangorn, and numerous rivers in between them and the plains of Rohan.

It would still be a long journey, and Cress still did not know what could happen in the Mines. Gimli had assured them that his cousin Balin would give them a royal welcome, but something told the _elleth_ that they weren't exactly going to be getting a spectacular welcome party with presents and confetti.

The one thing that did not make Cress doubt this change in plans completely is that the Company might actually have a chance of passing through the Golden Wood on their way south. When she comprehended this, she was very pleased and immediately felt slightly better about taking Gimli's route. Cress hadn't seen her mother since she left Lothlórien to travel with Gandalf. The She-Elf was suddenly hit with a wave of guilt of leaving her there by herself for so long. She sagged in disappointment as she realized that she should have sent her a message while she was in Rivendell. Now, while she was traveling with the Fellowship, there was no way of doing that.

Cress greatly wished that she had telepathy like the Lady Galadriel. That way, she could talk to whoever she wanted no matter where they were.

When she was little, Cress had been made aware that the Lady of the Wood could speak to people through her mind. Cress, thinking that telepathy had been the most amazing thing in the world, spent two months trying to communicate with other Elves without saying a word. She refused to say anything with her mouth, and finally her mother had gotten tired of her trying to tell communicate through a staring contest, and thus Cress learned that she could not use telepathy.

As she sat and kept watch one night, Cress was bored, and she tried telepathy again, though she already knew full well that only Galadriel could do it properly. She stared at the back of Gimli's head and repeated over, over in her head, _"Gimli could use a shave."_

Of course, the message didn't get through, and Cress cursed with disappointment. She sat on a dead tree stump, legs crossed, and chin supported by her right hand. After a long period of silence, she sighed exaggerative and pulled out her flute. Turning the thin instrument in her hands, she examined the smoothness of the dark wood and the elegant carvings near its neck and foot joints.

Then, she placed the flute to her lips and softly played a few notes. Noticing that her companions did not stir at the sound, Cress felt more comfortable and continued to play some random melodies she remembered from long ago. And for the next few minutes, she experimented with different notes and rhythms and did not pay attention to what was going on around her.

When she finally ceased her playing, she expected to hear silence around her again, but it was not there. There was a low growling noise behind her, and Cress instantly felt a cold chill go up her spine at the sound. It was definitely alive.

Her body slowed with fear as she gradually turned her head to look over her shoulder. And there behind her stood a massive wolf – a Warg, to be exact – and it was staring right at her, in an attack stance. The beast was standing on a boulder, about thirty feet away from where Cress sat, and low snarl generated from the back of its throat which Cress realized to be so loud that she had no idea how she couldn't have heard it before.

She had been so engrossed in her flute playing that she did not take her watch seriously. That was probably how the Warg got so close to their camp without her even noticing until she stopped playing. And the sound of the flute probably did a good job of leading the animal to her.

Cress took a frightened but attentive step backwards, still facing the angry Warg. Unfriendly animals like to bite people; the Warg was an unfriendly animal, and the She-Elf has already established that she hated being bitten, scratched, or stung. Cress' plan was to slowly and calmly wake the others so that they could take care of the wolf, but before she could take another step toward the nearest person, Boromir, the Warg lunged.

At first, Cress had mentally snorted, thinking, _There is no way it can jump that far, don't worry. _But she had underestimated the Warg's pouncing skills by a long shot, and the beast came on her so quickly that she barely avoided its attack, letting out a startled scream.

In panicked haste, the _elleth_ stumbled back as she tried to put distance between herself and the Warg. However, the ground was rocky and uneven, so she tripped in her alacrity and fell on her back, her flute flying out of her hands. As she struggled to get up, the wolf advanced on her with unexpected speed and bent down over her before opening its deformed mouth in a roar of triumph.

There was a great commotion as the rest of the Company jerked awake violently at the noises of struggle, but the Warg, that so intent on the captured its prey, paid no attention to them.

Cress wanted to scream in fear, but she thought that she might vomit if she dared to open her mouth, as the Warg was roaring at her face again, and its repulsive breath making her hair whip against the ground.

The Warg reared on its hind legs, and let out a piercing howl into the night, as if to announce its victory before taking the spoils and maybe also to strike fear into Cress' heart before tearing her to shreds.

Cress shrunk in dread as she waited to feel the tearing teeth and snatching claws of the Warg. But it never came, and the She-Elf, with her eyes squeezed shut, heard a loud snapping sound of an arrow expertly leaving a bow. She opened her eyes for a split second to see the wolf frozen still standing over her but with an arrow sticking out of its abdomen.

Then, she was hauled to her feet and quickly pulled away from the beast as it fell forward, dead, on the spot where she had just been.

Panting as if she had just finished a marathon, Cress wiped the sweat that had gathered on her brow and looked up to thank the person who saved her. She almost recoiled back when she saw that it was Legolas who had heaved her up from the ground. And the arrow that killed the Warg must have been his too.

The hobbits were huddled together while Gandalf inspected the wolf's dead body, and Aragorn, Boromir, and Gimli scattered around the camp to make sure that there weren't any others in hiding.

After calming her breathing and getting a hold on herself, Cress started to thank Legolas for what he did, but before she could get a word out, she heard a distant howl that matched the Warg's. It was cold and eerie in the night, and it was answered by another and another.

All members of the Fellowship stopped what they were doing and looked at each other with wide, meaningful eyes. "There are others," Cress breathed softly.

Aragorn dropped on his stomach and pressed his left ear against the ground, listening. The Company held their breaths as the Ranger heard the sound of a great pack on the move. The noise grew louder gradually and he got up, concluding, "They are moving toward us. This one's howl must have stirred the rest of his kind," he jerked his head at the Warg that had attempted to murder Cress.

"Do we run or fight?" Cress asked in a small, shaky voice. Frankly, she was a bit scared to know the answer.

All eyes turned to Gandalf expectantly, as everyone had silently established long ago that the wizard was automatically chosen as the leader in times of crisis.

With a troubled frown, Gandalf looked between the Fellowship and the dead Warg. "We must flight, quickly," he replied with authority. "I do not wish to engage in a battle we have a chance of avoiding. Haste! We make for the Gates of Moria which is south from here."

No one complained, and in a matter of seconds the Company had gathered their packs and destroyed any sign of their camp. Cress retrieved her flute which had landed a few feet away and blew the dust off of it before stowing it in its usual spot. Then, with the moon still hanging like a lantern in the dark sky, the ten walkers trudged on through the night with the pursuit of the Wargs some distance behind them.

* * *

Because all was aware of the wolves on their tail, the Fellowship of the Ring reached the Gates of Moria more quickly than they had expected. After the first few hours of fleeing from the Wargs, it seemed that they had escaped, and the beasts had given up their chase. But the walkers knew that they could not let their guard down.

They'd walked through the rest of the night and all through the next day. At the end of the first day since the Warg attack, the Company arrived at the massive gate that lead into the side of a colossal mountain. There had been no sign of pursuit for a few hours, and the mood of the Fellowship was relatively bright.

The Gate was arched and had writings and carvings on it in various different languages. Gandalf studied these carvings and the pictures on the door as everyone else sat down and rested a little as they had been moving nonstop since they started running from the Wargs.

With an exhausted sigh, Cress sank against a boulder near the oily, murky lake in front of the Gates. She shrugged off her bag and set in down on the ground beside her to get more comfortable. She rubbed her aching legs and back as she enjoyed her respite.

The sun was already halfway set, and the black lake reflected its full red color exaggeratedly.

Cress looked at the lake and wondered if it would be safe to bathe in. She hadn't had a bath in weeks, and it was only thanks to her Elvish genes that she didn't look like a complete hobo. However, her hair was a little dirtier than she would have liked, and she doubted that she smelled like a bouquet of daisies either.

Throughout the time Cress sat there, feeling relaxed for the first time since she left Rivendell, she was sure that Gandalf was finding a way to open the Gates. After the first hour, Cress began to wonder what was taking the wizard so long. After an hour and a half, the sun had set entirely, and the _elleth _noted that there was still an expression of puzzlement on her master's face. After two hours, Cress started getting bored.

She felt that she had rested enough and got to her feet, stretching her arms. She saw that a couple of the hobbits were throwing little stones into the lake and thought that it looked fun. Prancing cheerfully over to where the Halflings were, Cress bent down to their level and asked, "What might you be doing, Pippin and Merry? Do you mind if I join you?"

"We skipping these flat stones across the surface of the water," Pippin explained enthusiastically. To demonstrate, he picked up a smooth pebble from the ground and threw in out into the lake.

Cress watched with wide eyes, amazed, as the stone skipped over the water five times before sinking out of sight. She had never done this before, but she thought that it was the most entertaining thing in the world at the time. "Will you teach me to do that, Pippin?" she asked excitedly, clasping her hands together in hope.

Pippin nodded with a smile, "I can certainly try. Here's a pebble." He handed the Elf one of the stones he found. "Now, you hold it like this, at an angle…" He held his own pebble to show her the way.

Cress nodded as she tried to copy the hobbit's movements. "Is this correct?"

And for the next twenty minutes, Pippin attempted – and failed – to teach Cress how to skip a stone.

All was dark by the time they stopped, and Gandalf had still not gotten the Gates of Moria to open. He was clearly unhappy as he went through every possible method of opening the doors, using the clues that were written and pictures that were embedded in the granite.

Cress, who was still frustrated with her inability to skip stones, did not notice Frodo going to the angry wizard and say something to him. Even Pippin and Merry had gotten tired of skipping stones and only sat nearby, watching the _elleth _determinedly chuck one rock after another into the lake.

Then, suddenly, there was the great sound of stone moving against stone as the Gates of Moria finally opened after over two hours. Cress whirled around from the lake to see that the doors were slowly swinging open, and Gandalf and Frodo were standing in front of it; Frodo appearing a little bit smug, and Gandalf blinking at the open passage in realization.

"Come now!" the wizard announced to the rest of the Company. "The Gates are open, and we must proceed quickly!"

Cress sighed in disappointment as she stepped away from the lake, dissatisfied that she had not mastered stone skipping. However, before she turned her back on the water, she noticed bubbles rapidly rising up to its surface and though the water was murky and unclean, it was certain that something was moving down there.

Assuming that it was only a very large fish, Cress didn't pay attention to it as she made her way over to her bag to shoulder it. She didn't even take two steps before she heard a startled yelp behind her. When the She-Elf turned to see what it was, her jaw went slack.

Out of the lake, there came dozens of thick orange tentacles, and two had already reached out far enough to grab Frodo and Merry. The hobbits struggled and shouted as the tentacles lifted them off their feet and started pulling them back toward the lake.

"What is _that_?" Cress breathed in sheer horror.

The Fellowship watched, frozen with shock, as the host of the tentacles rose out of the water; a giant squid. It must have had hundreds of appendages from what Cress could tell, and its beady black eyes were not happy. Somewhere deep in her heart she suspected that she had lured this monster out of the lake with her constant failed attempts of skipping a stone. She had caused it to become angry, and that is why it was attacking the hobbits now.

Panic rippled through the Company as the monster started reaching for them as well. Everyone scattered to avoid the searching tentacles of the squid and drew their weapons in vain. Legolas shot an arrow at its hide but, though the arrow did not miss, it didn't appear to do any real damage either. Aragorn, Boromir, and Gimli hacked at the tentacles that whipped at them, slicing them off, but more kept coming, and Cress suspected that the beast must have some sort of regeneration skill. No weapon of Man can easily defeat it.

Cress felt as if she was going to be sick when she realized that she had to do something to save Frodo and Merry, for it was her fault that the monster came in the first place.

She snapped out of her thoughts, jumped up to avoid a tentacle that lashed out at her, and landed on it. For a split second, Cress wasn't sure what she was even planning on doing, but she let her body take control as she scrambled up the tentacle with an agility that only an Elf could possess.

When the sea monster noticed that she was running along its arms, it tried to toss her off, and it surely would have succeeded if the _elleth_ had already drawn her flute and performed a simple charm that turned the squid's slick, wet skin dry and rough. After that, Cress held on with all her might and miraculously braved the violent shaking and swinging of the tentacle.

Finally, the squid was paying so much attention to Cress that his grip on Frodo and Merry loosened, which allowed the hobbits to quickly slip out of his grasp. After failing to shake the She-Elf off, the beast simply reached out another limb to pluck her away, but Cress, saved only by her quick reaction time, jumped to another tentacle, barely avoiding the blow.

Suddenly, an idea came to her like the breaking dawn. It would be a long shot, but it was the best plan she had at the moment. Cress quickly scrambled out of the way as three more tentacles came flying at her, trying to grab her.

And she continued to do this, leaping from one appendage to the next as the other arms of the squid followed her, twisting and turning around themselves in vain attempts to catch the nimble Elf.

It was not long before Cress started to feel tired and worn out from all the close escapes. But she kept going, until she finally made a mistake and overshot her jump. A tentacle shot out to capture her, but it never reached her.

Cress landed with a painful thump on the ground, and she quickly scooted away from the lake as she took in the sight before her; the squid's dozens of limbs were wrapped and tangled and twisted into giant knot from chasing her around. Cress really had no idea that her hastily thought up strategy would actually work. In fact, she didn't think she would last long enough for it to take any effect. But she had done it.

The squid was helpless without free use of its arms, and it would have no option but to retreat back into the lake.

A bright and mostly relieved smile spread across Cress' face as she struggled to her feet, though they were aching, and surveyed her work.

The beast's eyes were burning with fury as it tried in vain to untangle its tentacles. In frustration, it gave an ear-piercing, high pitched wail that shook the land.

At first, Cress paid no attention to this and only cheered for herself as she bounced up and down on her toes. But then, she noticed the arch over the Gates of Moria beginning to shake and become unstable. The rest of the Company was already inside the cave waiting for her with wonder in their eyes at what she had just done.

Then, the arch started to crumble and fall in massive chunks of rocks. It had already been unstable when the squid hit it over and over again while trying to capture the Fellowship, and now it seemed that the cry of the monster had shaken it to its foundations.

Cress quickly forgot her triumph as she saw the gateway tumbling down. She was about to make a run for it, but out of the corner of her eye she saw her little drawstring bag several feet away, sitting where she had left it when they first got to the Gates of Moria. Her most precious things were in there, including her beloved diary.

She looked back at the Gate where the Company was frantically motioning for her to get into the Mine before the doorway is blocked by falling debris. From Cress' reckoning, if she left her bag behind and ran, she would have made it. But she did not go to her friends.

Cress turned her back to the Fellowship and bolted to get her bag. She could hear Gandalf shouting for her to leave it, but she couldn't. The She-Elf snatched up the sack, and then she made for the Gate that was already half buried in boulders. She felt a burst of energy as she sprinted toward the entrance, but even that wasn't enough.

The _elleth_ was eight feet away from the threshold when the last of the arch came crashing down and blocked the entire entryway, cutting off the shouting of her companions and sending dust and sand everywhere.

Cress stood there in front of the pile of rubble that blocked her path, eyes unblinking and in utter shock. Her mouth hung open as she processed her situation; the Fellowship is trapped in the Mines, and she – Cress – is now alone in the Misty Mountains.

* * *

_A/N: Hey, here's my first real cliff-hanger! You're welcome. Why am I turning Gimli into such a jerk? I don't know either, that's just how I imagined him before meeting Galadriel. Anyways, thanks for all the kind reviews! I can't tell you how happy I was reading them. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well, and if you did, review for me again and I'll writer faster._

_I have an announcement to make: I have recently adopted a Harry Potter story from ThePeacockFeather so if you are also a Harry Potter fan, please support me by going over to check that out! I have the preface and three chapters up for that one, and I could use some feedback on that, so go look at it please!_

_Next time: Ooh… Cress, now on her own in the Misty Mountains, must survive on her by herself and meet the Fellowship at the other side of the Mines of Moria. Also, those Wargs haven't given up on their chase yet… _


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